The Cutting Room Floor (was Missing Scenes)
by LadyKnowledge
Summary: Just a bit of fun about scenes I could easily imagine. As always, characters are the property of Warner Bros and Shoot the Moon. Thank you for all the reviews and kind messages! I'll add chapters as they occur to me - and reorder so that they appear in series order.
1. The First Time

Honouring the Friday night tradition of drinks at Nedlinger's, Francine Desmond and Lee Stetson slouched in a back booth, trying as hard as they could not to be seen. They'd met there as soon as Lee had dropped Mrs. King off at her car, hoping to lick their wounds in private.

"Total humiliation." Francine muttered, toying with her glass. This was not a day for a light beer. Across from her, Lee was nursing a 12-year old single malt. It was his third one. Francine was onto her third G&amp;T.

"Didn't exactly cover ourselves in glory." Lee agreed. He still couldn't believe that two of the Agency's top operatives had been rescued by an Arlington housewife in a Trailblazer uniform. Each time he considered a single detail of the last few days, he felt as if he was watching a slow motion train wreck. "At least we'll never need to see her again. Maybe in a thousand years, we'll have forgotten this whole mess." Francine raised her glass to that thought.

What had he been thinking? What kind of cosmic joke was it that he'd chosen her to give the package to? She'd been wearing a nightgown for crying out loud! And a trench coat. He mustn't forget the trench coat. How was he supposed to know that she was _resourceful_?

Lee shook his head, feeling his lips twitch. She'd been something to see though, coming out of nowhere, telling that thug to freeze even though she had no gun. He'd never met anyone like her. She'd been willing to risk her life to save him and Francine, even after they'd both been so dismissive.

How could anyone that naïve survive in this world? Didn't she realise that there were dangerous people out there?

Lee shook his head, trying to shake away the feeling he'd had when she'd just accepted that he could help her fly a helicopter. It was the scariest thing he'd ever done, watching her fly. He'd been terrified but she'd just trusted him. He'd never trust anyone with his life; except that he sort of had.

"I'll tell you," Francine announced, "that's my last foray into domesticity." Lee raised his glass to that. The thought of Francine cooking a meal was perhaps more disturbing than the thought of Amanda King flying a whirly-bird, but not by much.

Billy and Dirk wandered over, their broad grins evidence that they'd already had a few drinks. "Well, if it isn't Mrs. King's apprentices. I hear the Arlington housewife taught you both a few things." Dirk said with that strange intonation that made him sound like he was speaking to particularly dense students. Lee and Francine exchanged suffering looks.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll get your butts out of trouble again soon." Billy told them. The two men laughed heartily at the expression of horror on the two field agents' faces and walked away.

"Over my dead body." Lee growled before downing his scotch.


	2. If Thoughts Could Kill

Lee watched Amanda completely embarrass herself as she left the banquet. "Gee, I'm early! I'm not supposed to jump out of the cake for another hour!" Lee shook his head and managed a wan smile for Billy's sake. As his friend continued his speech, Lee considered what had just happened.

He couldn't believe that he'd nearly killed Billy. He would have, too, if Amanda hadn't gotten here in time. He tried to piece together what had happened, but it was like pushing at a numb tooth at the dentist's office. He knew there was something there but he was still struggling to know what it was.

He wasn't sure what was the most astounding. Was it Amanda's trust or his own?

Amanda had trusted him not to hurt her. They'd only known each other a few weeks and he'd been insufferable while she tried to make him comfortable at the hospital. She'd somehow figured out what he was going to do and how to stop it. She'd actually faced him down, armed with nothing but a toy duck, and defeated Glazer's work. Who risked their life like that? He wasn't sure he'd do it.

He'd trusted her. His mind had been screaming at him to shoot Billy, that he absolutely must complete his appointed mission but then he'd looked into those lovely chocolate brown eyes and he'd heard her desperate plea.

_Lee._

_Lee._

_Don't._

_Don't. Lee._

_Lee, Billy is your friend._

_Don't._

He'd had his revolver in hand and he'd known what he was meant to do. He never failed a mission. But she'd just raged at the duck, smashing it over and over again against the table. She'd been upset and he couldn't stand it.

_Talk! Talk!_

And then that stupid duck had yelled "What a guy! You've got real potential! Follow instructions. Success comes a step at time."

_Lee, don't. _

_Please don't. _

_Success comes a step at time. _

_Success comes a step at time. _

It was like her voice was right there in his head. He'd started having doubts about what he was meant to do. And then one thought had broken the spell.

She looked like she was going to cry and he didn't want to be the cause of that. If Amanda didn't want him to shoot Billy, he wouldn't. He had trusted her more than his own mind.

That simply, the hold that Glazer had had was ripped away and Lee could breathe and think normally.

Anyone else in the world would have waited for the applause or explained her incredible achievement. Not Amanda. She'd made a spectacle of herself and diverted attention from Lee's mental catastrophe.


	3. The ACM Kid

"Phillip? Are you awake?" Jamie whispered.

"Yeah." Across the bedroom, Phillip rolled onto his side, his face coming into the slight glow from the window. "You thinking about your bike?"

"Nah, you know mom will make Alexis give it back." Jamie answered. "What do you think of him, anyway?"

"He's a liar."

"No kidding." The two brothers looked at each other across the room, united in the face of their temporary adversary. He'd arrived with their mother and had quickly tried to play the cool kid by trying to feed them some line of bull about how he was the son of Russian defectors and the Feds had him in protective custody. He'd even tried to ask them what they knew about some guy called Lee Stetson who was supposedly their mother's partner. "Can you imagine it? What if mom really was a spy?" The two boys contemplated that bit of absurdity for a moment and then started to giggle.

"Yeah, like instead of taking care of pets and plants, she worked with some super spy and they raced around trying to save the world."

"Yeah, he'd drive some fancy silver sports car –"

"And while he was trying to be all cool, mom would be there inviting him to thanksgiving or bringing him cookies." This mental image proved to be too much for the boys and they muffled their laughter into their pillows.

"Boys!" Their grandmother scolded, popping her head in. "Settle down. It's past time you were sleeping."

"Sorry grandma." Phillip agreed. As the door closed once again, the two boys settled down. Each of them imagining for a moment what it would be like if their mother was actually a real federal agent. Pleased with the comedy of the idea, each boy fell asleep smiling.


	4. Service Above and Beyond

Lee made his way down the hall towards interrogation. He'd only just left the house they'd used as part of Amanda's cover after seeing her back to her car. It had taken two hours for the doctors to discharge her from the emergency room and Lee had sat by her every moment. When she'd finally opened her eyes and sounded coherent, the relief he'd felt had been indescribable.

But now, he had something else to do. He and Hollander had some business to settle between them. If he thought that single punch in the face that had knocked him out was anywhere near sufficient for what he'd done to Amanda, Hollander had another think coming.

As he approached, he saw two guards stationed by the door. Assuming they were there to keep the prisoner contained, Lee continued his path, only to have it deliberately blocked. "Sorry Scarecrow, our orders are to keep everyone, especially you, away from the prisoner." One of the MPs explained sympathetically.

"Do you have any idea what he did to Amanda?" Lee demanded, infuriated that he wasn't going to get to give Hollander the beating he so richly deserved.

"Yeah, we do. And you're not the first to come down here looking for a pound of flesh." The other MP answered. "Everyone wants a piece of this guy. Even Miss Desmond has been down here trying to get to him. But Mr. Melrose said no one gets to kill Hollander, no matter how much you might want to."

"I'm not going to kill him…" Lee muttered.

"Yeah, well you aren't putting him in a wheelchair either." Billy said, joining them.

"Billy – "

"Come with me." Billy said, opening the outer door of the interrogation room. This time, the two guards let them through. Through the one-way mirror, Lee could see Hollander cuffed to a chair. He was a mess. He'd been cuffed to a hard, uncomfortable chair in a brightly lit but barren room. When Lee had left him unconscious in Delano's house, he hadn't been bloody. Now, it was obvious that someone had spent some time on him. His nose was broken, his eyes black, and he held himself like a man in considerable pain but with almost no possible movement. Even from where he was, Lee could see that the man's hands were in bad shape. He wouldn't be surprised if there were a few broken fingers on each hand and having them hanging like that would be making them throb painfully.

"I didn't do that to him." Lee protested, feeling a slight twinge of guilt his enemy's condition.

"I know you didn't. It seems that Hollander's transportation was a bit rough. I've overheard a few comments about the fact that your colleagues in the bullpen were just helping out."

"With what? Murder?" Lee asked in disbelief. He knew that if he hadn't been so worried about Amanda, he'd have happily dished out a few more punches, but this was bordering on torture. At the very least, it was well beyond the realm of self-defence and into assault.

"Lee, you're the most senior agent in Field Sector. The new agents look up to you, and everyone loves Amanda. But that status comes with responsibility. You need to set an example here." Lee nodded.

"Get one of the docs down here to look at him, and get him a change of clothes. I'm going in there." Reaching for the first aid kit, Lee stepped into the room and quickly uncuffed Hollander and stepped back as the man slowly lifted his hands onto the table.

"Who was that woman?" Hollander finally asked. Lee shrugged. "This is not a business for friends and yet she clearly has many. What your colleagues did is personal."

"She's not an agent." Lee answered. "You shouldn't have tried to kill her."

"I assume that I failed, otherwise I have no doubt that I would be dead – or at least in a great deal more pain."

"Astute observation." Lee agreed.

"For someone who is not an agent, she certainly seems to have quite a few friends who are."

"You have no idea." Lee said, feeling his humour return.


	5. Remembrance of Things Past

In a private room at the back of the Parker General Hospital geriatric ward, Lee Stetson was bored. Under normal circumstances, he never would have stayed put for this long, especially not over a measly little vent in his shoulder. What had kept him here was the fact that it was part of the plan to capture this mystery murderer who was going after agents from both sides. Seeing the door open, he grinned as he saw Billy come in with a carrier bag from one of Lee's favourite burger joints. Hospital food sucked!

"Hey Billy! You're just in time to save me from starvation." Digging into the bag, Lee pulled out a huge, greasy, triple burger with the works and a pack of fries that had seen better days – like during the Napoleonic Wars. There was even a flask of wine. Just because Lee was eating bad food didn't mean he wanted to wash it down with junk. Pouring some of the wine into two plastic cup, he raised it to Lee. "In remembrance!" Billy chuckled and sipped his own wine as Lee reached for a fry. "So, how was my funeral? Were there legions of heart-broken damsels?"

"There was a decent turn out."

"Oh, who came?" Billy started listing names, trying to remember everyone. "I didn't recognise everyone, of course." Lee frowned. Billy hadn't mentioned the one name that Lee had expected.

"What about Amanda? Didn't anyone tell her?" Lee was outraged. On the list of people who needed to know that he had died, surely Amanda did? Besides, she was integral to the plan! It wouldn't look right if she wasn't at his funeral.

Watching his top agent get worked up, Billy bit back a grin. Scarecrow might like people to think that he was impervious to Mrs. King but he gave himself away every time he thought she was in danger; whether the danger was of hurt feelings or death. Lee cared more about Amanda than he was willing to admit.

"Oh, sorry, I thought I'd mentioned her already. Yeah. Mrs. King was there." Billy waited for the inevitable.

"Well? How did she look? Was she upset?"

"What do you think? Of course she was upset." Billy said. Lee immediately relaxed back against the mattress. "I told her things would be better tomorrow. I don't think she believed me though."

"I'm sure she'll be fine once she sees me." Lee said with confidence. He didn't know why but knowing that Amanda was upset about his death made him very happy. "She'll probably be beside herself and try to mother me to death."

"You know, Lee, mothering is a bit more than baking cookies and giving good-night kisses." Billy said. "You might want to brace yourself. Amanda may be mad at you."

"Amanda? Mad? At me?" Lee laughed as if the possibility was beyond the realm of imagination. "Amanda doesn't have a temper. I'll grab a cab over right after the doctor signs me out."

"Suit yourself, but just don't say I didn't warn you."


	6. Lost and Found

"This… Mandy," Eva started as Lee pulled into traffic.

"Amanda." Lee corrected firmly.

"You should not lead her on, Lee. With her boring and predictable life, she cannot help but be in love with you." Lee's bark of laughter elicited a dark look from Eva.

"Amanda? Boring and predictable?" Lee couldn't help the laughter, despite the serious circumstances. "I've never met anyone less predictable or boring than Amanda King."

"You should not lead her on, Lee." Eva repeated. Strangely annoyed by Eva's opinions, Lee shot his ex-lover a cool look. He was rapidly losing patience with her. She sounded almost jealous, despite the fact that she had chosen to marry Angelo instead of Lee. Feeling a sudden urge to irritate her, Lee shrugged.

"If anyone is at risk of falling in love, it's not Amanda." It was meant to be a glib lie that would put Eva in her place. Instead, the words hung between them. Lee couldn't imagine ever falling in love with someone like Amanda but in the few short months he'd known her, he already knew that his feelings for the Arlington housewife were more complicated and compelling than anything he'd ever felt for Eva.

When Eva had walked out of his life and into Angelo's arms, Lee had been stunned. He was always the one to walk away and he hadn't been ready to do that when Eva made her choice. In retrospect, it was more his pride than his heart that had been bruised that day.

Eva had been evicted from his thoughts since that moment at the train station. Lee just knew, with the same bone-deep certainty that he'd felt that day, that he would never again have a day when he didn't think of Amanda.

"Look, let's stop talking about Amanda, okay? We need to focus on finding Angelo before the KGB do."


	7. I am not, nor have I been, a spy

Amanda sighed as she locked the front door. She'd felt terrible breaking up with Dean, seeing his sad little puppy face when she'd explained that she wouldn't be seeing him anymore. And worse, she now had to tell her mother that her hopes of having a meteorologist for a son-in-law would never happen.

It not come to her while she was in the plane with Polo DiGregorio, pleading with him to stop the plane. The revelation hadn't come when she was seeing her whole life flash before her eyes, though it wasn't Dean but Lee that had starred in that too-short feature film. Dean hadn't even made a cameo appearance.

Instead, it was as Lee was driving her home after they'd been debriefed and their reports filed that Amanda had realised that it was never going to work with Dean.

Walking into the kitchen, she found her mother flipping through a magazine. "Did you end it with Dean?" Dotty asked calmly.

"Yes. How did you know?" This easy acceptance was the last thing that Amanda had expected from her mother.

"It's difficult to explain. But when you had amnesia, it was like a light had gone out. Like whatever you had forgotten was the thing that makes you the most happy. And then I realised, it was as if the last two years had never happened and you were acting like you did when you were first dating Dean. Then you remembered, and I guess I realised that there's something very different about you now. Whatever you'd forgotten, whatever it is that you remembered yesterday… it's changed you, Amanda. For the better." Smiling, Dotty reached into the fridge and pulled out a chilled bottle of white. Pouring them each a small glass, she lifted hers in toast. "To whatever makes you happy, dear. Long may it continue." Amanda smiled and took a sip. "Besides, I did not like his mother."


	8. Dead Ringer

"Everything okay?" Billy asked as Lee slipped into the car and deliberately plucked off a few burrs that had stuck to his trousers as he cut through the yards of Amanda's neighbours to avoid being seen by Dotty West. You'd think by now he'd have the escape route from Amanda's yard down pat but apparently not.

"Yeah, fine." Lee muttered. He knew his thoughts should be entirely on getting Francine out of this mess without compromising Magda, but a good part of his mind was preoccupied with Amanda. He felt bad about inflicting Magda on her. He'd find some way of making it up to her. "Amanda doesn't like Magda much."

"Amanda? Our Amanda?" Billy scoffed. "The same woman who once initiated an international ceasefire on Christmas Eve? The same woman who managed not to throttle you even when she spent six days looking after you when you were in hospital for your physical? That Amanda?"

"One and the same." Lee confirmed. "I'm telling you now that if we don't get Magda out of Amanda's house soon, we won't need to worry about what the Hungarians would do to her if they got a hold of her because it won't be nearly as bad as what Amanda might do."

"What did Magda _do_? Set fire to a kitten?" Billy asked. It was inconceivable to anyone who knew Amanda that she might take such a strong dislike to someone so quickly.

"I'm not sure, exactly. I was hiding on the patio when Magda apparently managed to upset Amanda's sons and mother. Magda is in the den and the family are all upstairs, hiding in their rooms. I think Magda said something to one of the boys that upset him." Billy groaned. Provoking Amanda's mothering instincts was not a good plan.

"Wonder who is in the worst situation at the moment, Francine or Magda?"

"Magda." Lee answered with certainty.


	9. The Artful Dodger

Lee Stetson was a man with a problem. A serious problem. He'd faced every conceivable danger known to man but now he was in real trouble. Until that precise moment, he had always believed that there was nothing worse in the world than a woman's tears.

Amanda wasn't crying though. If she had been, he'd have manned-up, patted her on the shoulder and said there-there. At first he'd tried not to let her see him look her way, but it was obvious now that she was deliberately avoiding looking in his direction.

She stood by the car with her raincoat folded over her arm, looking for all the world like someone had just kicked her puppy. Lee suddenly realised that Amanda being brave was just that much worse than any other woman's wailing and tears. He would need to do something, and fast! If he didn't, the guilt of remembering what he'd said to her was going to kill him. It was that much worse when he remembered how he'd felt the first time he'd been used by an enemy of the Agency. It was never a good feeling to know you had been used. It had sure given his pride a beating. Glancing over to where Alan Spires was being loaded into a police cruiser, he wanted to walk over and punch the guy again, twice. Once for his callous use of Amanda and another as a proxy for Lee's own guilt.

"The longer you wait, the worse it'll be." Billy said quietly.

"The worse what will be?"

"Apologising."

"What makes you think I'm going to apologise?" Lee growled, desperately hoping Billy would just offer to do it for him.

"Because you were pretty hard on her and you're not that kind of guy, Scarecrow. She's a nice person and so are you and there's no way you want to have this between you both." Considering for a moment how it might go the next time he called to ask for her help if this still hadn't been sorted, Lee nodded and walked over to his partner.

"Amanda?"

"Yes?" She answered in a small voice. Just that quickly, Lee knew that it would be a damn sight easier to smooth things over with her than have her use that pitiful, defeated tone with him again.

"I was wondering if you're free tonight? Maybe we could go to Spencer's?" Amanda finally met his gaze.

"What about your lip? You won't be able to eat like that."

"I'll ice it for a while and it'll be fine. Please?"

"If you're sure?"

"I'm sure. We've both had a tough week and deserve a treat."

"Thanks Lee. I'm really sorry for everything. I guess I really messed up, huh?"

"Me too." Lee answered, leaving the implied apology there for her to pick up. When she smiled at him, he knew everything was okay again.


	10. Fearless Dotty

"Good night." Amanda said firmly as she put the light out and pulled the door of the boys' bedroom shut. Chuckling to herself, she hurried down the stairs to the kitchen where Dotty was busy picking up the wrappers and shredded paper up off the floor. Phillip's birthday had been a great success, in no small part thanks to a very reliable secret agent man.

"Oh thank you, mother! Having a dozen boys in the house is like having a hurricane blow through!"

"Amanda, do you mind telling me why you felt the need to re-wrap Phillip's present?" Dotty asked, holding up a scrap of the gift paper Lee had used. Amanda froze.

"Ahh… well… you know when I remembered where we'd put those presents, I just ran upstairs to get them but I didn't realise that I had some chocolate frosting on my hands. You remember we'd just put the cake on the table? Well, I got upstairs and grabbed the gifts and wouldn't you know it, ended up leaving a big smear of chocolate frosting on the wrapping paper. Well, you know what you always say, mother! What's the point of wrapping a gift if it doesn't look just perfect?" Amanda paused for breath but resumed talking when her mother looked ready to say something. "I just wanted everything to be perfect for Phillip, after the delay in getting his presents sorted. So I just rewrapped them!"

"That makes sense." Dotty said hesitantly.

"_No it doesn't." _Amanda whispered to herself. She was starting to think that the reason everyone accepted her rambles wasn't that they agreed with her but just in the hopes she'd stop talking.

"Well, it was a lovely party, dear, but now I'm going up for a bath. I have a romance novel about a chocolate-crazed spy and a school teacher. It's ludicrous but entertaining."

"Alright mother. Good night." Amanda waited until her mother had the water running before reaching for the phone and dialling the familiar phone number. When Lee answered, she ludicrously invited her very own chocolate-crazed spy over for some birthday cake and milk.


	11. Saved by the Bells

Saved by the Bells – Filler

Lee looked around to make sure no one was near enough to overhear the call he was about to make. The coast was clear so he quickly punched in the number and waited as it rang. After the third ring, a cheerful voice answered.

"Pretzel the Clown, children's entertainer."

"Howard Herman?" Lee asked, just to be sure.

"Y-yes." The man was clearly surprised to have his real name used. "Who is this?"

"Doesn't matter. All you need to worry about is how very, very unpleasant it would be for you if the IRS was to launch a complete audit of your taxes for the last fifteen years? What is that, back to '67? I have a friend who can make it happen." Lee warned.

"Whoa! Pal! Why would you want to do that?"

"Because Amanda King hired you to make her son Jaime's birthday great and you bailed on her. I don't like when people give Amanda the run around, got it?"

"Okay, okay. I'll get ready and go now." Pretzel the Clown said desperately.

"See that you do." Lee smirked as he hung up the phone. As he had walked Amanda to her car after her debriefing, she'd explained that she was in a hurry because she needed to find some way of making Jamie's birthday special now that Pretzel had cancelled.

Lee had wanted to say thank you, but he didn't want Amanda to think that he needed her to get him out of trouble. He didn't. He'd have thought of something. He was the pro, after all. Still, she'd been pretty incredible. Imagine being able to make her way back to a house that she'd only been to in a crate. And besides, it never would have happened if she hadn't been doing him a favour.


	12. Sudden Death

"After all, what do I know? I'm just an assistant agent." Amanda muttered.

"Apprentice agent." Lee chided, knowing that it would irritate her.

"Purist." Amanda accused, falling neatly into his trap. "Is there anything else I can do?" Amanda asked just before they heard the coach calling for Sandy Newcomb.

"Yeah, this." Without warning, Lee reached over and pulled her into a kiss. His fingers curled slightly into her hair, pulling her closer. Amanda moaned as she felt Lee's warm lips move over hers.

He deepened the kiss with just the right pressure, the feel of his lips firm warm against hers. It was an unexpectedly tender kiss. Lee took his time breaking the kiss when the coach found them. He looked as surprised as Amanda felt by the passion that had flared between them.

"Enjoy your work, do you?" Frank asked Amanda sardonically. It was, after all, the second time he'd caught her kissing one of his players. It would have been nice if it was the same player but Amanda couldn't exactly explain her unique circumstances.

"Very much." Amanda said softly, refraining from rolling her eyes at Lee's smug smile. Embarrassed, she quickly made her escape.

Lee watched her go before turning back to Coach Frank. If there was one thing in this world he did _not_ need to know, it was how incredible a kisser Amanda King was. Where did a prim little housewife from Arlington learn that kind of lip-locking skill? He felt as flustered as she'd looked but he was a pro and when he turned to face the Coach, he was reasonably certain his smile was smug, not too idiotic.

It was a real shame that he wouldn't be able to get the cold shower he suddenly needed.


	13. Brunettes are In

Brunettes are In – filler

You're a professional, act like one.

Amanda repeated this mantra over and over in her mind. She made a point of smoothing her skirt so that she wouldn't betray her anger with Lee with clenched fists. She was so angry with him that she hadn't said a word since he'd guided her to his car, his hold on her elbow more about control than gallantry. He was the only person she'd ever met who made her wish she was a violent person.

Oooh! How she would love, just once, to throw it up in his face when something he was working on went wrong.

You're the professional, act like it.

Lee repeated to himself over and over as he drove Amanda home to collect the spare set of keys. He'd known this would happen! Well, he hadn't known exactly this would happen, but he'd known that leaving Amanda unsupervised was akin to lighting the fuse on a stick of dynamite. A catastrophe was inevitable!

Okay, so he hadn't know exactly how the catastrophe would manifest, but he'd known it would. And he'd been right. He'd warned Billy and he'd tried to get Amanda to decline. Amanda's simple little assignment had almost gotten her killed and, as a result, they were now missing a critical microchip and three agents would probably die in three days. That was just great.

You're a professional, act like one.

What was she going to say to Mr. Melrose? He'd finally given her a chance at a solo courier run and it had gone horribly wrong. Worse, Lee had been there to see it. And what kind of partner flipped out like that? Whenever anything went wrong with him, she was always ready to help.

You're the professional, act like it.

Yeah, and why hadn't Billy listened when Lee _told_ him that Amanda wasn't ready? He'd been looking out for her for more than a year, he knew better than anyone what kind of things happened around her. Why did Billy insist on ignoring Lee's experience? He'd gotten Amanda out of so many scrapes he'd lost count.

And now Amanda was sulking, in silence no less! That had to be a first, Amanda not speaking. What reason did she have for being mad anyways? Hadn't Lee come to her rescue – again?

As he pulled into the driveway, Lee consciously unclenched his hands from the wheel and got out of the car, hurrying to open Amanda's door before she had a chance to make a show of getting out without his help. Glaring at him, she still accepted his hand. Without a word, she collected her laundry basket and stormed to the door.

Lee bit back a smug smile as he joined her and pulled out his lock-picking set from his back pocket. Pulling out the half-diamond, he'd unlocked the door in an instant. "Thank you." Amanda managed. Quickly dropping her laundry basket on the counter, she collected a note her mother had left and grabbed her spare keys from the key cabinet. Stepping back out, she made a show of locking the door again.

Gritting his teeth, Lee followed her back to the car.


	14. Our Man in the Poconos

"Lee, darling, would you find us a wine to go with dinner?" Jillian asked as she expertly slid appetisers out of a caterer's box. Lee leaned over and kissed her before heading over to the wine rack that took up one whole wall of the kitchen. This was how he wanted his life: a long weekend in a great cottage with a sexy and interested woman, excellent wine, and refined food prepared by one of the best chefs in the Northeast. Four blissful days free of a certain troublesome housewife.

When Billy announced that he was sending Amanda to Munich on a courier job, Lee had thought he was kidding. Just a week ago she'd been giving a simple little courier assignment that nearly gotten her killed. How Billy could even consider giving Amanda another courier assignment so soon was beyond Lee. As he'd thought about it though, the idea of having Amanda King on another continent while he indulged in a long weekend in the mountains with his latest girlfriend sounded perfect. Even Amanda couldn't get into so much trouble that it would reach out and ruin his plans across the Atlantic.

Frowning, Lee realised he was still thinking about Amanda. Trust her to mess up his evening even without being there. The woman was slowly driving him around the bend. Determined to put a stop to it, Lee focused on his appointed task. Choosing the right Pinot Noir was much more important than what some low level courier was doing. Besides, he'd gone over the assignment with Amanda a dozen times: fly to Munich, make the drop, and then spend two days acting like a tourist while she waited for the return message. He'd been so specific that Amanda had even asked him if it was okay for her to buy a gift for Phillip and Jamie while she was there. Lee had not been entirely convinced she wasn't being sarcastic when she asked for permission to shop but he'd decided to encourage asking for authorisation as a good thing. "Yes, go ahead and shop while you're sightseeing. But Amanda, _try_ to stay out of trouble, hmmm?" Amanda had rolled her eyes and asked the question he was beginning to think of as a precursor to catastrophe.

"Lee, I'll just buy a few things. What could _possibly_ go wrong?" Lee shook his head at the memory, and the realisation he was still just standing in front of the wine rack, thinking about Amanda. Again.

"Lee, darling!" Jillian called from the dining room. "Haven't you found a wine yet?" Almost growling with frustration, Lee pulled out the first bottle to hand and walked out to the table. "A Gewürztraminer? Interesting choice for Beef Wellington." Lee felt his cheeks heat with embarrassment. He should have chosen a rich, full-bodied wine and instead he'd picked a sweet German wine that would have been better suited to dessert. Smiling suggestively, he wrapped his arms around Jillian's waist and nuzzled her neck. "Sorry, I was thinking of dessert." Turning in his arms, Jillian urged him down for a lingering kiss.

"Ah… well sit down and I'll get something to go with this course. And I'll put this in the fridge so it'll be cool for the next course." She told him, gliding back into the kitchen. A moment later, he saw her grab a bottle without looking as she came back out. Lee smiled as he recognised the Chateau Cannon St. Emelion 1979. An excellent, and very expensive, bottle of wine that would be perfect.

Finally relaxing, Lee turned his attention to Jillian and shook his head. How could thoughts of Amanda possibly distract him from this successful and ambitious woman who actually understood how the real world worked? Jillian was the managing editor of Le Monde Politique, a specialist journal on international politics. She'd probably never been to a little league game in her life.

Firmly turning his attention to his lovely hostess, Lee complemented her on the pretty presentation. Even if she'd done nothing beyond sliding the thing onto a plate, he was determined to be appreciative.

Just as he put the bottle of wine down after pouring them each a glass and picked up his fork, the phone rang. Frowning, Jillian set aside her napkin and went to answer. "Hello? Yes… Yes, he's here. One moment please." Extending the phone to him, she smiled. "A Mr. Melrose? He sounds… unhappy." Looking from his untouched dinner and out into the misery that tropical Storm Dean, Lee had a feeling that his personal catastrophe was about to strike, again.

Taking the phone, took a deep breath before speaking. "What's she done now?"

"She's been arrested for passing counterfeit. You get your ass back here and explain how this happened and then I want you on the 8 am flight out to Munich." Satisfied that he'd be obeyed, Billy slammed down the receiver, leaving Lee to explain how, beyond all expectations, Hurricane Amanda had managed to ruin the weekend from four thousand miles away.


	15. An Affair at Bromfield Hall

"Well, Pridemore and Wood will be vacationing at Her Majesty's pleasure for quite some time." Lord Bromfield announced cheerfully as he greeted Amanda and Lee at the bottom of the grand staircase. Amanda blinked, that was not what she'd expected to hear.

"Amanda, vacationing at Her Majesty's pleasure is an old English expression. It means that they'll both be in one of Her Majesty's prisons for quite some time." Lee explained, smiling gently at Amanda. She'd done it again. He'd sent her off on a wild goose chase and she'd not only brought in the goose but a legendary stag as well. Lord Bromfield waved his way down the hall.

"As the guests of honour at tonight's little soirée, I wondered if you would do me the honour of a dance, Mrs. King."

"I'd be honoured." Amanda said gracefully.

"I'm afraid I'll be a cheeky bore," Lee said shamelessly, "and claim Mrs. King's first dance for myself."

"I rather thought you might." Lord Bromfield laughed, opening the double doors into the ballroom where everyone had already gathered. At a nod from their host, the band began a slow waltz and Lee pulled Amanda into his arms, swinging into the familiar steps. He was a good dancer, but whenever he had Amanda in his arms and music played, something magical happened. As with everything else, they were great together.

Completely oblivious to the audience, they weren't aware of Lady Margery sidling up to Lady Bromfield. "Do you think they are in love, Gwyneth?" The sly baroness asked.

"Really Margery, anyone with eyes can see that they are. Look at them! They take every opportunity to touch each other and cannot go more than a few feet from each other before they seek each other out."

"Precisely." Lady Margery said with some asperity before moving to watch the perfectly matched couple drift across the dancefloor in a sensual display. Ralph might insist that the pair were not a couple but Lady Margery knew passion when she saw it. Two bodies didn't just move that sensually together without a fair bit of love and desire between them. If they hadn't yet made love, it was just a matter of time.

In the centre of the dancefloor, Lee smiled down at Amanda. "Next time we're in Europe together, do you think we could skip the part where someone tries to kill us?" He asked.

"I doubt it."


	16. The Three Faces of Emily

"He's still out cold." Emily said as she joined Lee in Amanda's den. Amanda had gone up to bed hours ago and the two of them were just waiting for the drugs Lee had slipped into Whitsitt's champagne to wear off.

"Good." Lee smiled at his friend as she took a seat and picked up the cup of coffee he'd prepared for her. Letting his head drop back against the couch back, Lee looked up at the ceiling. Emily smiled into her cup. In all the years she'd known Lee Stetson, she'd never seen him anything but debonair and in complete control – except where a certain Arlington housewife was concerned.

"She's a good sport, isn't she?" Emily prompted. Lee's lips curved at the mention of Amanda.

"She's the best. I can always count on Amanda." Lee admitted. Tearing his eyes away from the ceiling, he looked at Emily.

"You should do something about that." Lee chuckled at the ridiculous suggestion.

"Like what? Date her?"

"Marry her." Emily said with supreme confidence.

"Emily, it's not like that. Amanda is nice to everyone."

"Lee, my boy, Amanda is more than nice to you. She's gotten you out of more scrapes than you can count and I know for a fact that you're more than nice to her. Any woman that you are willing to commit treason for, and woman that you would die to keep safe is worth considering rather more seriously than as an occasional Girl Friday."

"Amanda deserves a lot better than an agent with a roving eye." Lee answered, deciding to be serious for the moment. "She deserves a man who will love her, protect her, take care of her and make sure that feels every bit of that every moment of the day. I have a short attention span, remember?"

"You had a short attention span, Lee. But I've noticed that any time you've had the chance, you've focussed your considerable powers of charm in her direction. It may be too soon for you to see it, but mark my words. One of these days, you'll look up and she'll be there and you'll realise that everything you've been looking for has been under your nose for years." Lee shook his head and decided to redirect the conversation. "What's the plan for our prisoner, commarade?"


	17. Ship of Spies

Ship of Spies

"Well, don't we look rested and relaxed." Francine quipped as Lee walked in to the Monday morning meeting. Lee refused to take the bait and instead just smiled at Amanda who was already seated.

After closing the case, Lee had called Billy. It didn't make sense to pay for last minute flights back to D.C. when they would barely save a day and the annual budget reviews were about to begin. Instead, Billy had told him that he and Amanda would just have to finish the cruise. He'd groaned as he hung up the phone. The prospect of being the only single guy on a ship of newlyweds had seemed like something of a punishment.

Amanda was standing at the rail, looking out over the port as he walked up the gangplank. She'd smiled and waved at him and suddenly his misgivings were gone. He'd realised that he had two whole days to spend with his best friend but without a case to worry about. Even better, he didn't need to make an excuse or ask her to spend the time with him.

It had been glorious.

They'd spent the first day alternately swimming and lounging by the pool reading. Lee had been delighted to discover that he and Amanda had picked up the same bestseller for the trip. Within a chapter, they'd been laughing at the absurdity of the plot; challenging each other to make up even more fanciful details. At sunset, they'd strolled around the deck and then gone to their staterooms to change. An evening of dining and dancing had pushed them ever closer to a line they were both terrified of crossing.

In the end, Lee had walked her to her door and had a cold shower.

Amanda sat across the meeting table from Lee. She'd seen a side of him that he'd kept well-hidden until now. Far from the relentless bachelor on the prowl that he played every other day, he'd shown himself to be a funny, charming, and warm companion. For the first time ever, he'd really opened up about his parents, living with the colonel, and his wild student days. Amanda's eyes was caught by the glint of the wedding ring he'd put on her finger a few days ago. Before this case, she'd never have thought of Lee Stetson as husband material but now? She could only hope that he had fallen right to sleep and not heard her having a shower. At least he would never imagine just how cold she'd needed the water to be.


	18. Spiderweb

"Here you go, General." Amanda said as she handed General Kuragin a cup of coffee. The man smiled and accepted the drink just as the door opened and Francine entered.

"Great job, Amanda. Everything went off perfectly. Lee's waiting for you to wrap up." Amanda nodded and stood up.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, General. I hope you'll be very happy here in the United States." Picking up her coat and purse, she left Francine with the defector and stepped outside. Lee and Billy were talking quietly in the hallway.

"That was really great work today, Amanda." Billy said. "No problems getting Kuragin in?"

"No sir. Oh, except he did sit on one of the boys' toys as he got in the car. I think he's probably not used to family station wagons but he didn't seem to mind –" Recognising the signs of an imminent ramble when he saw them, Lee ruthlessly interrupted.

"Amanda, Mitch Larner is waiting for us. We should go." Billy raised an eyebrow at that. Lee supposed that after all this time, he was finally learning how to manage Amanda's rambling.

"Oh! Of course." Amanda smiled and headed for the elevators.

"Now, I need to make it look good, so I'll hold your arm a little bit roughly." Lee explained as they headed to sector five. "Just remember that as far as Margaret Brock knows, we all still think that you're the double agent. Try to look guilty."

"I'll try." Lee grinned.

"If you're having trouble, then just think about how you completely forgot your mother at the grocery store the other day." Amanda gasped. When Lee had told her that she was suspected of treason, she'd completely forgotten to go back and collect Dotty from the grocery store until after they'd spoken to Billy and Francine. It was a rotten thing to remind her of, but it did help her to put on a guilty face.


	19. A Little Sex, A Little Scandal

"Want some cake?" Lee offered, making Amanda laugh.

"Sure." Following him into the apartment, Amanda took off her jacket and shoved the towel she'd had over the cake stand into her purse and dropped the lot over the back of the sofa.

"I'll open the champagne. Would you get us some plates and cutlery from the kitchen?" Lee asked just as lightening streaked across the panoramic windows. The lights promptly went out. "I'll get the candles out." Lee added.

"Champagne, chocolate cake, and candles?" Amanda teased. "This is how rumours get started, you know." Lee laughed at that and went hunting in the cupboard.

By the time Amanda returned with the plates and cutlery, he'd lit a few candles and cleared off the coffee table except for their makeshift feast and the Ty Cobb baseball that always had pride of place. Curling up on the sofa, Amanda watched him cut them each a piece of cake and pour out two glasses of champagne. It was a markedly better bottle than the bargain one he'd served up to Randi Baby last time. Seeing where Amanda's eyes were, Lee grinned.

"Randi didn't have a problem with that swill the other day, but I won't drink it again." Lee told her, handing her a glass and plate. Taking his own seat, Lee dug in like a little kid. "Oh Amanda! This chocolate cake is lethal!" He moaned.

"Yeah, it's called Death by Chocolate." Amanda agreed. Normally she would have had only a tiny sliver, but she was getting so much pleasure out of watching Lee enjoy it that she didn't want to make him feel like he needed to be restrained. "I learnt it when I was in my college sorority."

"You were a sorority girl?"

"Yeah, I was a Kappa."

"Huh. I once broke into a Kappa house." Lee told her. "You haven't told me much about your college days. Were you the Wild, Wild, Amanda West?" He teased.

"I had my moments. How about you? You know, I don't even know what you majored in."

"Trouble, mostly." Lee chuckled. "Actually, I did a double major in Political Science and Criminology with a minor in History."

"Wow. I did English Lit and a minor in Photo Journalism."

"I know." Lee teased. He knew how much it irked her that he knew so much from her personnel file. He wouldn't tell her that he'd been particularly thorough when he'd done her background check. He even had copies of her and her ex's E.S.-12s. The lights flickered back on, distracting them. At the very same moment though, the rain started. "Well, we might as well sit the storm out." Lee said, walking over and turning out the lights. He didn't want Amanda to leave yet and he was enjoying the intimacy of the candlelight chat. Stalling for an excuse to keep her there, his eyes lit on the television. "Fancy a movie?" He asked.

"What have you got?"

"Casablanca?"

"One of my favourites."

"Mine too." Kicking off her shoes, Amanda scooted over to make room for Lee. "It doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world." She recited, then covered her mouth as she realised that she'd accidentally brought Randi back into the conversation. Lee grinned as he pressed play on the VCR.

"It was never going to last." He said as he came back to the sofa near Amanda. "She was too predictable." Amanda laughed


	20. A Relative Situation

Colonel Robert Clayton settled into bed with a smile on his face and a tear in his eye.

It was amazing what fate could do at times. Here he was in the worst month of his military career and the best surprise he'd had in three decades dropped into his lap.

He'd known when he'd called Skip to arrange dinner that his nephew was scrambling for an excuse to avoid him. He knew exactly what his nephew thought of him: a rigid and cold-hearted career military man who didn't care much about anyone or anything as long as no one deviated from the plan. Bob had been in no mood to let his nephew dodge him. They were family and family had a duty to each other.

When he'd pushed, his nephew had ultimately given some cockamamie excuse about a girlfriend demanding his attention. As if Skip had ever indulged the demands of a girlfriend.

Despite Lee's opinion, Bob understood the workings of a young alpha male mind better than most. He was one and he'd commanded too many others to mistake the signs. It had amused him to push his nephew that little bit farther to see what he'd do. The revelation had come when Lee had blurted out a name.

Amanda.

Lee couldn't know, and maybe Bob would never tell him but as soon as he'd heard that, he'd been transported back to a café in London in December 1943.

"Jennifer." Matt had said in exactly the same tone.

Watching Skip with Amanda had been exactly like watching Lee's parents back in the day. Bob could see that they weren't dating, no matter what Skip said. But he also knew that when a Stetson man fell in love, it was for good. Bob's stepfather and nephew had never been the same after they found a woman who made them look at her like Amanda King did to Skip. They'd never used that particular tone for any woman other than the one who brought them to heel.


	21. Life of the Party

Life of the Party

Amanda grabbed Lee's arm and pulled him to a stop as Vic Burling was taken led off by police officers. "You're hurt!" She gasped, lifting the flap of his dress shirt that Frankie Columbus had sliced with his belly. In fact, Lee could barely feel the superficial cut, but he knew his Amanda.

"It's nothing." He answered, looking down. It was the truth. The cut wasn't deep and though it was still welling blood, it didn't actually hurt. Knowing that there was nothing Amanda liked better than to fuss, he decided that the least he could do after her heroics on the case was indulge her. Hamming it up a bit, he winced as the fabric drifted back against the wound.

Amanda bit her smile. Lee wouldn't admit it but he really liked when she fussed over him, even for a minor injury. Just last week he'd carried on worse than the boys over a little splinter. Amanda supposed that even heroes needed to feel like someone was prepared to take care of them. The cut would certainly need to be cleaned, who knew what kind of bacteria had been on that knife. "Come on, I'll clean it for you and put on a dressing so you don't mess up your fresh shirt with blood."

"Oh, alright. If you insist." Lee grumbled, delighted.

"I do." Taking his hand, she led him towards the first aid kit that hung on the wall near the office. "Shirt off." She ordered softly. Patting the stainless steel counter, Amanda encouraged Lee to sit down as she rooted through the first aid kit. Finding disinfectant and some cotton pads, she turned back to her partner's bare chest. When she would have stayed in her awkward position to see to her nursing task, Lee's hands settled on her hips and moved her between his legs. Surprised by the intimacy of the position, Amanda's eyes flew up to Lee's smiling face. Feeling her cheeks heat, she nevertheless tended to his injury.

They'd been right, it was minor. Still, Amanda took her time, cleaning every inch of the long cut and then wrapping a dressing around his chest. It was as she was hugging him, passing the roll of gauze from one hand to the other behind his back, that Billy and Francine returned.

"Welllll…this is cozy." Francine remarked.

"Will you just can it, Francine? Amanda's just taking care of my injury."

"We can see that, Lee. Good thing Amanda's first aid skills are top notch." Billy commented.

"It's-" Amanda started to say, but the other three finished for her.

"Thanks to the Junior Trailblazers." Smiling, she secured the dressing and stepped back, handing Lee his jacket.


	22. Odds on a Dead Pigeon

Odds on a Dead Pigeon – Filler

"It just doesn't make any sense." Francine repeated for the umpteenth time to Billy and Lee, just as Jim Credle's widow came by. Completely misunderstanding the cause of Francine's upset, the woman squeezed Francine's hands in silent commiseration.

Credle's funeral had been modest but well-attended but the reception afterwards was beyond awkward. Like most Agency funerals, it was a bizarre merging of the outside world with the Agency. For Credle's family, they couldn't understand how a mild-mannered documentary film sales rep could meet such a gruesome end. For Credle's co-workers, the questions were less naïve but still unanswerable. For Francine and Lee, the questions were deeper and much more personal.

Both of them were struggling to accept the challenge Amanda presented to their self-perception. Francine had worked hard, not only with regards to her career, but also to be attractive to men. To have Amanda King effortlessly, and often accidentally, achieve similar levels of success drove the blond to distraction.

For Lee, Credle and Treloggan had both died as a result of a strangely personal failure in his efforts to protect her. After the David Benson case, when the mole had targeted Amanda, Lee had it clear to every man in Field Sector that Amanda King was strictly off-limits. At the time, he'd insisted that it was his responsibility to protect Amanda from any nefarious seduction that some agent might try. But with Credle and Treloggan, it had been the reverse: they'd been irresistibly drawn to what they thought was Amanda.

Worse, it had highlighted the appeal Amanda held for men who lived in a world of deceit and intrigue. Lee needed to face the facts. Amanda was more than just his protégé and it was just a matter of time before someone else stepped in and took _his_ Amanda. Billy wondered how long it would take Lee to figure out that the only way to keep other men from staking a claim on Amanda was to make a real one himself.


	23. DOA Delirious on Arrival

"Come on, Amanda." Lee said grimly, his arm clamped on Amanda's wrist like a manacle. He couldn't get her to Fronan fast enough. While they'd waited for backup to collect Redzig from the theatre, Amanda's delusions had taken a decidedly sensual turn. Lee had been groped to within an inch of his life. He'd never in his life paid less attention to his driving than he just had getting from the theatre to the Agency.

He gently tugged Amanda into the elevator with him. Apparently mistaking the elevator for a real closet, Amanda launched herself at him, hooking her legs around his waist and kissing him senseless. It was only thanks to the warning ding of the doors opening that saved them from tumbling out onto the floor.

Deciding that in this case expedience trumped gallantry, Lee bent down and lifted Amanda onto his shoulder. Thankfully, her only response was to giggle as she bounced up and down.

Seeing him hurry past the Bullpen, Francine and Billy immediately joined him. Entering the lab, Lee pulled the vial of antidote out of his pocket and handed it to Fronan. "Now." He ordered, desperate to put an end to Amanda's shenanigans. He could only hope that she wouldn't remember a second of the day.

"You'll need to put her down."

"No!" Lee blurted, not willing to risk having her launch herself at him again, this time with witnesses. With her legs dangling in front of him, his own completely inappropriate response to her seduction were reasonably hidden. "Not until you've reversed this drug." He added more softly. With an understanding look, Billy and Francine went to wait in Fronan's office.


	24. You Only Die Twice

Billy Melrose watched morosely as the porridge dropped off of his spoon and back into the bowl his wife had just put down in front of him. She'd taken pity on him and put a teaspoon of brown sugar on the doctor-approved breakfast but it was still small consolation for a man who snuck two donuts in with his breakfast every workday. Even his coffee had fallen victim to her wifely devotion. Billy wrinkled his nose at the milk she allowed instead. "William Edward Melrose!" Jeanine scolded, seeing his look of despair. "You just eat up your breakfast and stop sulking. I'm not giving you any donuts."

The pounding of the door interrupted what was gearing up to be a prime scolding. Jeanine didn't give an inch, staring down her husband while Kitty, their eldest daughter went to answer. A moment later, they heard her greet their unexpected visitor. "Hi Lee!"

"Hi Kitty. Is your dad home?" Billy frowned, even without seeing his best agent's face, he knew that something was very wrong. The fact that Lee had driven over instead of calling, at seven o'clock on a Sunday morning, had Billy forgetting about his breakfast instantly. Lee followed Kitty into the kitchen.

"Hi Jeanine." Lee greeted, kissing her cheek.

"Goodness Lee! You look like you just lost your best friend!" Jeanine shuffled him into a seat at the breakfast table while Kitty quickly poured Lee a cup of the coffee that had been denied to Billy.

"What's going on, Scarecrow?" Billy could see the fine tremors as Lee reached for the offered cup and the sheen of tears in the agent's eyes was an alarming divergence from his usual detachment. Reaching for Billy's paper, Lee quickly searched through it and pointed at an obituary at the bottom of the day's announcements.

**Amanda King, Age 34**

Died of apparent suicide.

A divorced mother of 2 boys.

Resided at 4247 Maplewood Drive,

Arlington, VA 22201

"It doesn't make any sense." Lee said softly, running his finger absently over the name. "How could I miss the signs?"

"I didn't see it either." Billy said sadly.

"How could we have all missed it?"

Watching the exchange, Jeanine was stunned. She'd started hearing about Amanda about two years ago. She knew that her husband was fond of the Arlington housewife he had been partnering with his best agent. But she'd known Lee more than a decade and she'd never seen the young man undone by anything. William was almost right. Lee Stetson wasn't _falling_ in love; he was already there.

"Maybe there's been a mistake?" Jeanine offered, desperate to give the men hope even if it was just for a short time. Lee leapt at the offered lifeline.

"Yeah! Billy, we should go to the morgue and do a formal identification." Billy nodded and stood up. Reaching over, he slipped an arm around his wife's waist and pulled her close for a kiss.

"I love you, even if you keep trying to feed me health food." He whispered, once again realising how lucky he was to have found such a woman and how fleeting life could be. "Come on, Scarecrow. I'll follow you in my car."


	25. Burnout

"How did you get away from Jack Harris?" Francine asked, riveted. As was often the case, Amanda thought maybe they were crossing the line between debriefing and gossip session. Still, Lee couldn't do it because his report would need to corroborate Amanda's debriefing so she had to recount what happened to Francine.

"He heard a noise behind him. At the time, we didn't know it was Lee of course. But he turned around and I grabbed a piece of wood on the ground and whacked him with it! Well, he dropped his gun and rolled down the hill and I grabbed the gun but I didn't know what I was going to do because I had a flat on my car and I didn't know how long Harris would be out for. But then, Lee said something I think it was just 'Hi!' or something. You know Lee, he just laughed at what I'd done. He probably thought I was silly for holding the gun like it was a dead ferret or something; but you know I really do hate guns! Well anyways, he told me he'd put the spare on my car and told me where to meet him after that and then when I met him… Well he was just right back to his old self!" Francine nodded.

"And so he just broke his cover. For you?" Francine couldn't help the tinge of bitterness in her voice. Here she was a highly trained, highly qualified professional and Lee and Billy had kept her out of the loop while Amanda _Oops_ King was in on the entire thing, almost from the beginning. It was unbelievable how much Amanda was in on that Francine was kept out of.

"Well, I don't think he had much of a choice, Francine. You know how Lee is. He wanted to keep me safe and the only way to do that was to keep me away from…" Amanda paused, remembering that it wasn't the _only_ way Lee had tried to keep her out of things. They'd both been so shocked when he'd slapped her. It hadn't really hurt, but it had been hard enough to upset them both. Lee had apologised, first at Nedlingers' and then more insistently at Chez Nouvelle. She'd forgiven him, of course. And there was no need for that part of the story to make it into the official record. No one needed to know that particular piece of information.

* * *

Across the bullpen, in Billy's office, a similar scene was playing out. "You should have seen her, Billy. Amanda never lost her cool. She didn't even flinch when I shot at her. She just trusted me." Lee laughed. "I couldn't believe it when I saw that semi coming down the road. I wish I could have gotten a picture of Brakin and Harris's faces when they realised just how much they'd underestimated Amanda." Lee shook his head. "She was amazing."

Billy nodded. He'd noticed a real change in Lee's attitude to Amanda. "You know, you couldn't ask for a better partner." Billy pointed out. "She even made a point of defending you to me."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Haven't you noticed that your backlog of paperwork magically disappeared while you were visiting skid row? Amanda got them done for you and when I asked her about it, she just listed your qualities for me and reminded me not to forget any of them."

"That's my Amanda." Lee chuckled. Billy didn't comment on what was probably just a slip of the tongue. It seemed that maybe Lee's feelings had vaulted right past friend and partner into something a bit more exceptional. Billy was looking forward to seeing how that panned out for them.

"I'll back up your recommendation for recognition and make sure it gets the right people's attention." Billy promised.


	26. Murder Between Friends

Lee pulled up in front of the offices of Lawrence &amp; Associates, one of the top law firms in Washington. Walking up to the main desk, Lee flashed his credentials. "I'm here to see Mr. Lawrence." He announced. A young woman immediately stepped forward.

"Mr. Stetson? Mr. Lawrence asked me to bring you directly to his office." She said, waving Lee through the security gate. She led him up in a private elevator and guided him to the large, glass walled corner office where his old pal, Dewey, was currently on the phone. Opening the door, the girl stepped back to let Lee in and closed the door behind him. Dewey waved him over the couches as he finished his call.

"Stetson! What brings you out here?"

"Dewey, I need your help." Lee told him bluntly.

"Who'd you kill?" Dewey asked calmly as only a hugely successful criminal lawyer could.

"Not me." Lee said. "A friend of mine's been accused of the Byron Jordan murder."

"The security guy? Your friend was the one who repurposed a steak knife?" Dewey asked, raising an eyebrow. After a moment, his lips twitched, "I wish I could say that your quality of friends had deteriorated but I do still have a few memories of those jaunts in the Far East back in the day." The two men chuckled. There'd been that one weekend in Bangkok that was best forgotten; and thankfully largely was.

"She didn't do it, Dewey." Lee said, running a hand through his hair. "She's being set up."

"How do you know?"

"Because I know Amanda King." Lee said softly. "She can't afford what you charge, so if you'd bill me, that'd be good too."

"Stetson, you know I owe you more than I'd ever be able to bill you for." Dewey scoffed. "The only thing you need to do is tell me the truth. Why do you care about this Mrs. King enough to even offer to cover the kind of legal costs that come with a murder charge?"

"She's…" Lee ran his hand through his hair again. Seeing Dewey watching him, he sighed. "I don't know what she is, Dewey. But I know that for the last two years, my job has been to take care of her. Nothing touches Amanda if I can help it; so I'm asking you, please. Will you take her case?"

"Yeah, okay. Give me a few minutes to find out what I can." Stepping out, he gave his associate instructions. Returning to Lee, he poured him a stiff scotch. "You look like your best friend died; but I'm right here." He teased.

"I just feel like I let her down, leaving her to get into trouble like this." Lee admitted. "Amanda just… I don't know how to explain it, but she seems to have the most incredible ability to attract trouble."

"And you don't?" Dewey retorted.

Dewey watched his old friend. "Not like Amanda. I look out for her. I have since I first met her and I don't really care that she quit." Dewey thought that Lee cared a lot, but he didn't interrupt his friend's rambling. Getting Lee to talk used to be like pulling teeth but he seemed more than willing to talk about this Amanda of his. Louise, his associate, brought him a thin folder.

"The police report, sir." Dewey flipped through the thin case file.

"Lee, they'll never get to trial with this." Dewey told him. "I'll arrange to meet her at the police station tomorrow for the second round of questions. She shouldn't speak to anyone about the case until she's spoken to me."

"I'll let her know. I was going to go by and make sure she's not too upset. She spent the night in jail you know and I just got her out before I came to see you."

"Okay. Well you can rest easy. We'll get this cleared in no time."

"Yeah, okay. I'm working on finding out who really did it. I think it's related to a job I'm working on."

"Ok. Let me know if there are any developments."

"Thanks Dewey, I owe you."

"Yeah, well, if you ever marry your Mrs. King, you can invite me to the party." Lee laughed.

"Me? Marry Amanda? Your instincts are off, pal. That'll never happen." Shaking his head at the ludicrous thought, Lee got up.

"I've been wrong before, but not often." Dewey answered with a shrug. He didn't tell Lee that he didn't ever remember being wrong about something as obvious as how Lee felt about his Amanda.


	27. A Lovely Little Affaire

"Stop fidgeting!" Amanda scolded her reflection. Adjusting the delicate lace wrap over her shoulders, she collected her purse and headed down the stairs.

"A-man-da!" Dotty gasped as Amanda stepped into the den. Phillip and Jamie even stopped to stare at her.

"Wow. That dress is rockin', mom!" Phillip complemented.

"Yeah mom, you look great."

"Another premiere?" Dotty inquired.

"Actually, no. IFF got a few tickets to the variety festival at the Kennedy Centre tonight so I'm meeting up with a friend from work for the show."

"That's nice, dear."

"Now look, I'll be pretty late getting home, so don't wait up." Amanda ordered, giving each boy a kiss and a hug before kissing Dotty's cheek. "Boys, you listen to your grandmother." Amanda added for good measure. "Good night!" Not giving her mother any time to ask any more questions, Amanda hurried out the front door just as Lee's Corvette pulled up.

"Hiya Toots." He offered the same cheesy greeting as he hurried to open the car door for her. "You look beautiful." He told her softly as she settled in the passenger seat. Smiling up at him as she settled, she felt a sudden thrill of awareness. They'd been out for evenings together before, not all of them were even work related. But this was something new. This was the first time that she was absolutely sure that this was a date. Striding back to the driver's side, he slid his long frame in beside her.

Amanda shifted her leg slightly as Lee put the car in gear. The high slit, something a a lot more daring than she'd usually wear, meant that the back of Lee's hand brushed against the bare skin of her upper thigh. The effect was electric and his gaze shot to hers. Feeling wonderfully wicked, Amanda raised an eyebrow in challenge earning her a perfect million watt Stetson smile.

"Like that, is it?" Lee asked softly. Amanda shrugged but couldn't help the smile that danced on her lips. Lee had surprised her with the invite to the Kennedy Centre. But then, he'd also surprised her by climbing up the trellis and into her bedroom in the middle of the night last week. It was past time for her to surprise him.

Until a few months ago, she'd had no idea that she had this evil streak but she wanted to see just how far she could push him. Looking at that million-watt Stetson smile, she decided that it was going to be more fun than she ever imagined. There was no risk with Lee, really. They were good friends and enjoyed each other's company. It was just a bit of harmless flirtation. After all, she wasn't his type, right?


	28. We're Off to See the Wizard

"I don't know!" Lee said, running a hand through his hair in frustration as he paced Billy's office. "I just don't get it Billy. Why go after Cheryl?" Any answer Billy might have given was precluded by a soft knock at the door announcing Francine's arrival. Her face was pale.

"Lee, there's a police officer on line four. It's about Amanda." Lee looked at Billy in horror. Given that he'd just been discussing Cheryl's murder, he wasn't prepared to hear _Amanda_ and _police_ in the same sentence without immediately jumping to the worst imaginable conclusion. Taking as deep a breath as his constricted chest would allow, Lee pressed the line and put the call on speaker phone.

"This is Lee Stetson." If his voice was a bit shakier than usual, neither Billy nor Francine seemed to notice.

"Mr. Stetson, I'm calling on behalf of Mrs. King."

"What happened to her?" Lee demanded, needing to know.

"Someone shot out her windscreen with a shotgun from the backseat when she got into the car." The officer explained, then as an afterthought, righted Lee's wobbly world. "She's a bit shaky and it was so close to her ear that she can't hear very well at the moment. She asked if I would call you and ask you to arrange for a pick up at the Yummy Mart on Wilson Boulevard."

"Tell her I'm coming for her. I'll be there in ten minutes." Lee managed after clearing his throat three times. The officer hung up the phone and left three very shaky federal agents staring at each other in silent relief.


	29. Over the Limit

Amanda and Lee handed their menus back to the waiter after ordering. "That was some week, eh?"

"Yeah. I don't really understand why Francine was complaining about spring cleaning. I thought it was pretty exciting." Lee raised an eyebrow at that. Exciting, indeed!

"Only you could take a simple little spring cleaning review and turn it into exciting. Murder, bombs, extortion… Life around you, Amanda King, is always exciting." Realising how that sounded, Lee felt his cheeks warm. "What I mean, is uh…" Amanda's smile was so bright it completely derailed his brain. Scrambling, Lee resorted form and frowned at her. "You know, there's one thing I haven't figured out. How is it you came to be there in the first place?"

"What happened to no shop talk?" The growing part of Lee's brain that seemed entirely dedicated to Amanda suddenly went on high alert.

"Don't change the subject." Lee scolded mildly. He wanted her to admit that she'd been sitting outside his apartment, just waiting for him to leave. He'd certainly spent enough time outside her house waiting for her to come home from dates. It would be nice to know that Amanda felt the same niggle of jealousy at times.

"Me? Follow you?" Lee suddenly remembered the last time they'd had this exact conversation. Amanda hadn't needed to follow him because she'd known exactly where he'd be. She'd known where he'd be tonight too but she couldn't have known when he'd get there. Which meant…

"You want to Trans-Oceanic alone? Without telling anyone?" Lee could actually feel his blood pressure rising. "Are you out of your mind, Amanda King?" To his credit, he managed to ask the question in a strangled whisper instead of a yell. She didn't even try to deny it.

"Well it's a good thing I was there or you and Francine would have been blown to smithereens! Or you'd have been shot."

"You're going to be the death of me, you know that?" Lee grumbled. "I can't even put you on report for disobeying a direct order because as a civilian, that would permanently chain you to a desk." Amanda bit back a smile at this. Lee was in senior agent mode again. He needed to be appeased.

"I'm sorry." Lee maintained his frown for another moment so she'd know he really, really disapproved. In the end though, it was just another time when she'd saved his rear by doing exactly what he told her not to do.

"Alright, that's enough shop-talk." Lee relented. "What are your plans for the weekend?" Amanda smiled and launched into a full ramble, soothing Lee. All was right in his world. He didn't need to mention that he'd broken up with Lesley already. Amanda had been right, Lesley just wasn't the woman for him. He needed someone who really understood him.


	30. Tail of the Dancing Weasel

Lee watched the motorcycle disappear around the corner and looked around. Annoyed that he'd let Crawford get away, he made his way back up the stairs to Harry's place. The entire apartment was a wreck with papers strewn everywhere.

Working his way to the window, he looked at the shattered glass on the floor. He hadn't really thought much of it at the time, but now he remembered that Larry had been spooked by something coming in the window. Had Harry been watching from outside somewhere? Looking around, Lee searched for whatever projectile had given him the distraction he needed. Maybe there was clue on who had helped him?

It didn't take him long to notice the baseball. Harry was a cricket man, not a baseball fan. Reaching for the ball, Lee stared down at the Harmon Killebrew signature in disbelief.

"Damnit Amanda!" He growled. She'd followed him! He'd told her, point blank, not to follow him, and she'd ignored him. Again!

This time, he was going to read her the riot act. She had to have bolted as soon as she saw the intruder or Lee would have seen her. She knew full well that she'd done something wrong. Even if she'd saved his skin, again, he was not going to let her get off free.

Pocketing the baseball, he quickly searched the room but there was nothing of interest.g

Glancing at his watch, he realised that if he didn't get back to the office soon, Amanda would probably head home and he wouldn't get a chance to yell at her before he cooled off. "Not this time!" He growled, pulling out into traffic. If he wanted to yell at her, which he did, then he had to do it while he was still angry enough to overlook the fact that she'd saved his skin, again. He knew that he wouldn't be able to hold on to his anger until tomorrow and he really didn't want to be reasonable about this. She could have been hurt if Crawford had seen her.

Lee smiled grimly. "That's one good thing about having the Q-Bureau." He could give Amanda an epic dressing down in the privacy of the Q-Bureau and no one would be the wiser. Within moments, he was pulling up in front of the Agency. Quickly giving the password, he collected his ID and took the stairs three at a time. As he approached the office though, he could hear voices through the door. Gritting his teeth, he realised that even in the Q-Bureau, there wasn't enough privacy for the scolding he was preparing. He'd need to get Amanda alone so he could yell at her in peace.


	31. Welcome to America, Mr Brand

_You owe me, Stetson._

Lee chuckled as he hurried back to his car. He was going to pay for this through the nose and he was looking forward to it.

He knew that everyone at the Agency thought that Amanda was a sweet, docile lady who let him get away with murder. He'd thought so too until the last time he'd asked Amanda to entertain a foreign visitor.

Lee didn't remember much about the Spaniard; but he sure remembered the earful he'd gotten from Amanda. In retrospect, waiting for her to get home had not been the brightest idea he'd ever had.

It had all started innocently enough. One of his buddies had set him up with a gorgeous blond with the intellectual capacity of a flake of linoleum. The same day, a Spanish courier had arrived and expected to be entertained. Lee had had no idea of what kind entertainment he expected. Lee had shamelessly foisted the guy on Amanda and gone off on his date with Formica-girl.

He'd been so bored within an hour that he'd made a hasty exit and gone over to Amanda's. He'd been surprised to see her pull up a short time later. She'd parked her car right in front of his and waited for him to make his way from the 'Vette to the passenger seat of her car. Their conversation had been short. Within two minutes, Lee had shuffled back to his car feeling like he'd been flayed by Amanda's outrage.

After he'd punched the guy out the next day, Amanda had gently tended his knuckles when he'd gone by her place to apologise.

There was no risk that James Brand would require the same kind of intervention. Amanda could handle him. All the same though, he would need to make it up to her. Grinning, Lee made a mental note to book Spencer's for next Friday. He didn't need to check anymore. He knew when Joe had the boys because that was when Lee could have Amanda to himself.


	32. Utopia Now

"Amanda!" Dotty gasped as Amanda came into the house with the picnic basket. Seeing tears appear in her mother's eyes, Amanda lost the grin that she'd been sporting ever since she'd abandoned Lee, speechless in the hallway at the Agency.

"Oh mother! I'm so sorry!" Reaching out to her mother, Amanda was shocked when her mother held up both hands in a keep away gesture.

"Where have you been? You smell like you've been rolling around in a swamp!" Amanda grimaced. She supposed that she and Lee had gotten used to the smell during the night but she did remember that initially things had seemed quite fragrant to them too. Add to that twenty-four hours of running, climbing, and just generally working up a sweat and she suddenly understood why they'd been given leave to go home and get some rest before the debriefing.

"Uhm… Well, you see, we were out scouting for a location," Amanda began. Technically, she wasn't lying. They had been scouting for a location, even if it was a terrorist camp instead of a filming site.

"And you took a picnic basket?"

"Well, a couple of us decided that as long as we were going to be out in nature for the day, we'd make the most of it. You know, pack a picnic lunch and have that before heading back into the city. Mr. Stedman and I were the last ones to leave and it was getting dark. He missed the turn off and before you know it, we'd ended up in a swamp patch. We couldn't get out and by the time the others realised we hadn't made it back it was getting really late so they came back out this morning and finally found us and were able to get the Jeep out of the muck."

"You know, Amanda, I think that IFF should give you hazard pay whenever you go out of the office with Mr. Stedman. Imagine! You could have been shot at by a hunter or something!" _Or something, _Amanda agreed silently. "You know Amanda, some day you'll have to introduce me to Mr. Steadman. I am curious about this man you spend so much time with." Feeling particularly wicked after her parting shot to Lee; Amanda indulged herself for a moment.

"How do you imagine him, mother?"

"Oh, I don't know." Dotty gave it a bit of thought and smiled at her daughter. "I like to imagine that the reason you spend so much time working is that he's a tall, sexy, charming man of mystery. But then, if he was I think he'd be wrapped around your little finger by now, or you'd be wrapped around his. I guess he must actually just be a boring, ordinary guy."

"Pretty good guess mother. I'm going to go have that shower now."

"Alright dear."


	33. J Edgar's Ghost

Lee was smiling as he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. Slathering on some shaving gel, he considered his plans for the evening.

He had a date with Amanda King and he was going to pull out all the stops.

He had been delighted when Amanda had tried her hand at a little bit of flirtatious extortion this afternoon. He didn't need to come up with an excuse to ask her out.

He shook his head as he considered the man in the mirror. A year ago, that man would have laughed in his face if he'd admitted how much he was looking forward to a date with Amanda. That man had been an idiot.

Lee supposed it had all started with the Gordon Redding case. After he'd understood how Cradle and Trelagan had been lured to their deaths, he'd started seeing Amanda differently. She wasn't just some naïve little housewife, she was a woman who could seduce worldly, experienced men. Cradle and Trelagan had fallen victim to Redding's assassin because they thought she was Amanda.

Then there'd been Redzig and his toxin. Lee could still see Amanda, drugged to the gills, giving him and Francine heart palpitations as she did her demonstration of extreme gymnastics. He had held her so tightly after he pulled her off the ledge that it was a marvel she didn't crack any ribs.

Then there'd been the Brakin case. Lee looked away from his reflection as he remembered that horrible, awful moment when he'd actually slapped Amanda in the face. He hadn't meant to and had apologised immediately, but the look in her face had ripped him to shreds. Even now, he felt more shame about that one moment than any of the other questionable things he'd done in his life. He'd die before he made Amanda look at him that way again.

Desperate to regain his good mood, Lee scrambled for another happy memory. It didn't take long. Amanda had thrown away the entire play book with two little words. _Not exactly._

He must have stood there, dumbfounded, for a solid ten minutes after she'd dropped that little bombshell. _Not exactly. _Was it the almost-kiss or the glad-to-have-known-you-even-if-it-gets-me-killed part that was not exactly about two people being cold and scared?

Lee had been looking for a chance to clarify that ever since. He planned to do just that tonight. As far as he was concerned, it was Amanda, not him who would pay up tonight.

_Lee, we're talking about love and when you're talking about love, you have to be patient._ Lee had been patient enough. Now he wanted to know if love was what they were talking about.

_Not exactly._ Amanda smirked at herself in the mirror. She could still see Lee's open-mouthed astonishment when she'd decided that she wanted to change the rules of the game on him.

They had just spent the night in a cold swamp with no food, being hunted by Slacker's gang of criminal mercenaries but the worst part of it had been the interrupted almost-kiss. She and Lee had kissed before, of course, most notably at their fake wedding a year ago. The job just seemed to demand it more often than you'd expect and even a pretend kiss with Lee Stetson was no hardship.

But the night in the swamp had been different. No guts, no glory indeed! They'd been in tight spots before but after they'd talked and almost kissed, Amanda had lain awake thinking about what had been said.

How many times had they come near death? What if the worse should happen?

Two years ago, she'd had a terrible taste of what losing Lee would do to her. Every adventure since then had only made the potential pain that much greater. And Lee cared about her. She knew that it was not something that he ever did easily. It had taken a long time before he'd let her past his defences but he'd let himself become vulnerable and if anything ever happened to her, Lee would not deal with it very well. He was a good man with a very tender heart who had suffered too much loss.

Amanda knew that she was falling in love with him and she thought that he might be falling in love too. Life was too short, especially in this business, not to grab love with both hands when it came by. If they could face death together then they would probably be okay facing love together too. Lee hadn't acted on her hint fast enough to suit her, so Amanda had upped the ante. Her little blackmail ploy had certainly worked like a charm.


	34. Wrong Way Home

Walking into the coffee shop, Lee looked around and quickly spotted Joe King. Waving, he moved to the counter to order himself a black coffee before joining Amanda's ex at his table. "Hi Lee."

"'Good morning." Lee hadn't been too surprised to get Joe's call just as he was stepping out of the shower. He knew that they had stuff to talk about and that it was a conversation they were best having without Amanda present.

Taking the free seat, Lee waited for the other man to start.

"I wanted to thank you for what you did. Not just for me, but for the boys too." Lee shrugged.

"Just doing my job."

"How long has it been your job to look out for Amanda?" Lee bit back a smirk at Joe's question. It was like that, was it? He knew perfectly well, and he suspected Joe did too, that Amanda would skin them both alive if she knew about this little pow-wow.

"About three years." Lee exaggerated.

"I guess you're the reason she dumped Mr. Sunshine?" Clearly Joe hadn't liked Dean or Dunce or Don any more than Lee had.

"Possibly."

"Well, I guess I have to thank you on the boys' behalf again. They never really liked him and none of us were too disappointed to see him go."

"Lee, I don't know what's between you and Amanda, but I know that it's more than just having her type up a few reports. She's changed, a lot. I don't have any claim on her any more but I'd like to ask you for one last favour."

"Ask."

"Look out for her, okay? I'm not sure that you know this yet, but Amanda has a real knack for getting into impossible situations." Lee snorted.

"Believe me, I know."

"Man, Amanda would kill me if she knew I was saying this." Joe ran a hand through his hair, reminding Lee of the many, many times that Amanda had given him cause to do the same.

"Joe, relax. Nothing will happen to Amanda as long as I have anything to say about it."


	35. Wrong Number

Lee grunted as he, Ragmop, and Leatherneck manoeuvred Amanda's new desk through the door of the Q-Bureau. It was the closest match they'd found to Lee's in storage. Once they put it down, they spent a moment catching their breaths. "Now you know why the Agency moved to the modern desks; they don't weigh nearly as much." Ragmop explained. "I'll go get Mrs. King's new chair."

Once they were alone, Lee pulled the box of supplies that he'd prepared. Harry had given him a pretty little desk lamp for Amanda. Francine, having just learned of Amanda's role in her rescue, had contributed a pretty little vase for the garden flowers she often brought in. Lee's gift was an engraved leather desk mat.

While Lee was setting this up, Leatherneck set about wiring a panic button into the edge of Amanda's new desk and setting up her phone. Lee had been surprised when Billy suggested it, and even more so when he included a requisition for another panic button in the vault. "This is Amanda. If anyone can find trouble inside a vault..." Lee had ruefully shaken his head. That was too close to the truth to be funny.

Lee wondered if Amanda realised how appreciated she was by her coworkers at the Agency. Leatherneck had come in at six a.m. to make sure all the wiring was done before Amanda arrived. And Ragtop had cleaned the grime of decades of neglect off the desk before they brought it up.

By ten-to-nine, Leatherneck had cleared out of the office and Lee swept the small cactus he'd sat on a few days ago onto Amanda's desk. He hoped she wouldn't notice the scratches that he'd suffered as he re-potted the thing.

Hurrying to his own desk, he opened the thickest file on his desk and pretended to be reading. Mrs. Marsden buzzed twice once Amanda was on her way up. Biting back a smile, Lee waited to see her reaction. "What's this?" Amanda asked, obviously delighted. Lee shrugged and came around the desk.

"After being attacked by your cactus the other day, I finally realised that the only way I'd ever have my desk back is if you had your own desk." He was quite pleased with his gruff explanation but Amanda wasn't fooled for a second.

"Thank you."

"Well, an agent-of-record should have her own desk." Lee muttered. Unbothered, Amanda leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you, I love it!" Trust Amanda not to hold a grudge for his asinine behaviour. He hadn't thought she would.

"Come on, I'll show you all the bells and whistles."


	36. Playing for Keeps

Playing for Keeps

Lee quietly slipped around the back of Amanda's house and peeked in the window. They'd caught the Sunday traffic back into D.C. and it had taken them much longer to get back than he'd expected. He'd dropped Francine off and planned to head home but the Corvette had seemed to drive itself here. He certainly didn't remember making the conscious decision to visit Amanda.

Glancing at the dashboard clock, Lee realised it was nearly midnight. They'd all be long asleep. Looking up at the house, he could see a lingering glow from the den. Walking around, he smiled as he looked through the back window. Amanda had obviously fallen asleep watching TV. The blanket that must have been covering her was on the floor and she was curled up into a ball.

Not for the first time, Lee quickly picked the lock and let himself into Amanda's kitchen. Pausing to listen, he knew that everyone in the house was asleep. Walking over to Amanda, he pushed the hair back from her forehead. She was slightly sweaty and cool to the touch. Obviously, she'd had a fever that had only recently broken.

Shaking his head, Lee slid his hands under her and lifted her into his arms. Carefully, pausing once more to listen, he quickly carried her up to her bed, pulling the other side of the bedspread over her.

"Lee?" She whispered sleepily. "What are you doing?"

"Putting you to bed. Go to sleep." With uncharacteristic obedience, Amanda rolled over and snuggled into her pillow with a sigh.

Satisfied that she'd be more comfortable, he quickly went down the stairs. Picking up the blanket, he folded it carefully and stacked it with the pillow on the couch, turned off the television and let himself out, locking the door behind himself.


	37. The Pharaoh's Engineer

It was nearing ten o'clock before Amanda was sitting on one of the kitchen stools, watching her mother bustle around as she prepared her milk and Galliano. Five minutes ago, Lee had appeared in the window behind her and Amanda had been trying to make her escape ever since. "Amanda, dear, you can't imagine what a hectic day it's been. Well, first Ethel Henderson called and you know what she's like! She just goes on and on and on… You just can't get her to stop! And so that made me late getting out the door so I had to take a cab but then once I'd paid that I didn't have enough for the hair dresser so I had to go to the bank and you know what that branch is like at the end of the month. Well, I'll tell you, by the time I got to the hairdresser's, I was so frazzled that it's a marvel that I could even relax!" Outside, the sound of the garbage cans crashing over finally broke through Dotty's monologue.

"You know, mother, it's probably the Hendersons' dog again. I better go make sure he doesn't shred the bags. Why don't you go on up and have your bath." Amanda suggested, kissing her mother's cheek and escaping into the garden.

"The Henderson's dog?" An amused voice asked quietly as Amanda pulled the door closed. "I don't think I've ever been mistaken for a pooch before. Not my highest accolade, that's for sure." Amanda smiled and looked at the neatly arranged garbage cans.

"Sorry. Mother had a stressful day." Amanda explained, feeling her lips twitch. She and Lee had spent most of the night before at Briarwood, looking out for Rupert Simpson. Then, they'd spent the entire day trying to piece together what Project Pyramid was. By five o'clock, Lee had faced a band of killers armed with nerve gas and machine guns while Amanda had guided Rupert to safety. The worst of it, for both of them, had been the hour between when Lee had run off to confront the terrorists and when they found each other again.

For a moment, Lee just gaped at her. Then, as if in slow motion, Amanda watched as the corners of his eyes crinkled and his shoulders began to shake. She saw his grin just before he clapped a hand over his mouth in a hopeless attempt to contain his laughter. She could hear the giggles start in the bottom of his chest and gain power as they rose up his throat. In a desperate attempt to muffle his laughter, Lee yanked her into a hug and laughed against her neck.

It was the most perfect moment Amanda could ever remember. This complicated, beautiful man who risked his life every day so that women like Dotty never needed to worry about anything worse than a badly timed phone call from a neighbour, was reduced to a fit of giggles in her arms. Life didn't get any better than this.


	38. The Triumvirate

Lee smiled down at Amanda as they danced, the picture of sixties hippies.

She'd surprised him, running back down the stairs less than half an hour after he'd convinced her to go to the reunion. She wasn't wearing the terrible dress he'd seen her showing her mother and the boys though. Apparently, she'd remembered a box of clothes up in the attic. She'd fished out a blue mini dress with white trim. She'd also managed to do her makeup very differently. Instead of his demure Amanda, he was out with sultry, sexy sixties college Amanda.

Amanda had gorgeous legs. He wished he could see them more often, but he certainly wouldn't encourage her to wear this kind of outfit to work. The last thing they needed at work was the kind of distraction that would come from Lee having to fight off the droves of men who would notice. He preferred to be the only man noticing these things.

Looking up at Lee, Amanda gave him a smile of her own.

"Penny for your thoughts." He invited.

"Inflation, it'll cost you a cup of punch." She answered, nodding towards the refreshment table.

"I think I can manage that." Lee agreed.

"I was just imagining all of the gossip that's flying around about us. Nice dodge introducing us as partners, Stetson." He shrugged and chuckled. Amanda's old classmates were all beside themselves trying to figure out the two of them. When they'd arrived, the greeter had asked Amanda to introduce Lee. It was such a blatant attempt to the start of a flirtation that Lee had used his hand on Amanda's hip to pull her closer.

"We're partners." He'd answered.

"Let's give them something else to gossip about." Amanda told him softly, sliding her hand around to the back of his head and pulling him forward. Her lips met his in a brief sweet kiss that caught him completely by surprise. It was the perfect kiss for the circumstances. Just the right combination of heat and decorum. Lee could easily imagine what they'd looked like: a couple too deeply in love not to kiss, but comfortable enough in their feelings for each other that they had nothing to prove.

The only problem was, he wanted more. He wanted to prove that Amanda was his. Holding in his arms, knowing the pleasure they both felt in each other's company and that this woman was his partner and his best friend did nothing at all to help him explain away what he felt more and more often when he touched her.

It used to be mere gallantry to put a hand to her back or tuck her hand into the crook of his elbow. But now he noticed that the crook of his elbow got cold when Amanda's hand wasn't there. He also realised that he considered the small of her back very much Lee Stetson property.

Amanda's eyes glowed up at him, making everything and everyone else at the reunion recede into insignificance. "They're all jealous of what they think we have." She whispered.

Lee didn't tell her that he was jealous too.


	39. The Eyes Have It

As the orderlies wheeled Lee into his room, Dr. Scardelli came to speak with Amanda. "Mrs. King?"

"Yes?" Amanda was surprised, she'd expected to be told that Billy would update her. "What can you tell me, doctor?" Amanda's eyes flickered to the door of Lee's hospital room.

"We've alleviated the pressure. He has a severe concussion and he'll need a solid two weeks before he's completely back up to speed." Amanda smiled. "We'll do another neuro exam when he wakes up but that won't be for a few hours yet."

"Thank you, doctor. I appreciate the fact you didn't make me wait to hear through official channels." The doctor blinked and opened the folder in his hands.

"Aren't you Amanda King?" He asked, showing her the emergency contact information that NEST had in Lee's file. There, in Lee's best block letters, was Amanda's name and address. She wondered if Billy and Francine knew that while he was incapacitated, Lee wanted her to make his life and death decisions for him. He'd never told her but it meant the world to her that he'd named her as his closest family.

"Yes. That's me."

"You can go in now, Mrs. King." The doctor said as the orderlies left Lee's room.

"Thank you." Smiling, Amanda picked up her coat, purse, and the magazine she'd picked up in the hospital shop and entered the private room. Putting everything aside, she went to sit on the edge of Lee's bed, carefully stroking the hair back from his forehead. He'd taken quite a beating and the dark bruise over his eyebrow worried her.

Taking his hand in hers, she gently stroked his arm, desperately blinking back the tears that threatened. It wasn't the first time she'd seen Lee hurt, or even hospitalised; but he always smiled and teased her through it, no matter what happened. Brain injuries were different. The consequences could be severe. Raising his limp hand to her lips, she kissed the back of his hand softly. "Come back to me, Scarecrow." She whispered. "I need you."

"Need you too. Don't go, my Amanda." Lee mumbled in his sleep before slipping back into deeper unconsciousness.

"Never." Amanda promised.


	40. One Bear Dances, One Bear Doesn

"Mrs. King, if you will please wait in here." Fred Fielder said as he led the three of them towards the interrogation rooms.

"Now wait just a minute!" Dotty protested. "I won't allow you to separate-"

"Mother, it's alright." Amanda soothed. "I'm sure they just need to question us separately."

"But Amanda –"

"Mother! Please. Just go with Mr. Fielder. I'm sure we'll see each other soon." With obvious reluctance, Dotty relented, following Fred into the interrogation room. Amanda quickly slipped into the observation room next door and settled in to watch her mother and Dr. Zernoff's debriefing. Surprisingly, it was the door of the observation room that opened first, admitting Billy Melrose.

"Sir, how's Lee?"

"A bit bruised, but Francine's bringing him and Jake Lawrence in now."

"Oh, good. I was worried when I saw him go off without any backup."

"Really?" Billy challenged, giving his favourite civilian a stern look. Amanda blushed. "I won't repeat what Lee said when we discovered that you'd gone to that warehouse alone but only because I know he'll tell you himself when he gets here." Billy hoped that Lee would be a bit calmer by the time he got to Amanda than he had been on the way to Alexandria. Billy had gotten an earful of Scarecrow's rant while they made the drive. He wanted to prepare Amanda for the coming scolding. "I suggest you review the field guide section about always making sure you have backup."

Amanda didn't make the mistake of taking the suggestion for anything other than the reprimand it was. It was well-deserved. She still couldn't believe that she had actually tried that move with the whistle. Just yesterday, she'd asked Lee if he thought they were Bonnie and Clyde but today she'd tried to be Lee Stetson. It had not gone well. "I will, sir." Satisfied, Billy left the room and appeared a moment later on the other side of the mirror.


	41. The Boy Who Could Be King

The Boy Who Would Be King – Filler

Evelyn Randall carried her tray over to the table where her two best friends were already sitting. "You'll never _believe_ what happened today!" She challenged as she took her seat.

"Did Mr. No Attachments co-sign a loan for a certain Queenbee?" Lillian Marston asked smugly, ruthlessly letting the air out of the credit union officer's gossip balloon. The Agency pecking order might tilt in favour of the agents, but the support staff had their own code language.

"How did you know?" Evelyn asked, sulkily lifting a spoonful of soup to her lips. It wasn't fair! Lillian always knew stuff before anyone else if it concerned the Agency's star pair, especially since they had moved up to the Q-Bureau.

"It happened right in front of me!" Mrs. Marston told her companions. "He had just started up the stairs and then she arrived and called him on the carpet like a naughty child! I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it."

"You must have misunderstood, Lillian! She's such a soft, sweet person. I don't think she'd dare say anything of the sort to him. Besides, he could charm his way out of any kind of trouble with a lady." Agnes Snow, the Agency librarian argued.

"That's what I thought." Lillian agreed, wide-eyed. "But I tell you, it was clear as day that she was not going to let him off without some serious grovelling and when he realised? Well, he folded like a sheet of origami paper! He couldn't apologise fast enough. And she wasn't buying a single word of his charm routine. She just stood her ground and waited. Well, it didn't take a minute for him to offer to co-sign her loan. Can you believe it? Mr. No Attachments himself, offering to do that?" Agnes shook her head in disbelief. Scarecrow? Cowed by Amanda King? It just wasn't possible. Everyone knew that the only things that mattered to the confirmed bachelor were his job and himself.

"Well, when there was that whole incident a few months ago, I did get to see them working together." Agnes offered hesitantly. "They do seem to be very considerate of each other." Agnes wouldn't say anything more about that. Amanda had been so sweet, so gentle with her and Agnes knew she'd kept Mr. Stetson from erupting. In the end, they'd been kind and helped her to get some of her dignity back. Agnes had noticed a few other things while she'd spent time with them that she would take to her grave. At the time, she'd been so hurt with what Nicky had done to her that she hadn't trusted herself to say what love looked like. Looking back, she was pretty sure that those two loved each other but she didn't know if they knew it.

"Well, they came in together this morning and signed the papers right in front of me." Evelyn confirmed.

"We'll need to talk to Edna over in pensions to confirm, but I think there's something going on between those two!" Lillian declared. "You know her, she couldn't keep a secret if her life depended on it."


	42. Dead Men Leave No Trails

Lee watched helplessly as Steven Sallee escaped on the bus and wondered, for the millionth time at least, how it was that Amanda King, divorcee and mother of two, had somehow ended up as a cosmic lightening rod for international intrigue. Surely it couldn't be a characteristic of suburban housewives in general to attract this kind of trouble?

"It is him, isn't it?" Amanda asked, jogging up to him. Lee raised an eyebrow.

"You know, just once it would be nice if you'd just humour me and stay put." He commented dryly. Amanda gave him one of her patented _Oops, sorry_ smiles. He was starting to think that she wasn't sorry at all about disobeying, but more about being scolded. He was about to make her sorrier. "So, do you want to explain what you were doing hunting a suspect alone? Not only without backup, but without even telling anyone you were out in the field?" Amanda had the grace to look abashed, but when Lee paused for breath, she opened her mouth to defend herself. Lee didn't give her the chance. "Amanda King, when are you going to learn to stay out of trouble?" Lee demanded. "Now, not only to we have a murder suspect and terrorist on the loose, he _knows_ you can identify him and that you're well enough connected that you were able to trace back to that car. Whatever his game plan was, you can bet that silencing you is now included."

"Me?" Amanda squeaked, belatedly realising that after tracking Sallee to Millicent's house, returning with a federal agent, and then tracking him to his breakfast haunt, she had made herself into a major liability for the elusive terrorist.

"Yeah, you." Lee growled. Taking her elbow, he turned her back towards Connecticut Avenue where he'd parked his car. "Until we get our hands on him, you are under protective custody, Amanda King!" Lee declared. "And in case that's not clear enough for you: I don't want you anywhere near Sector Seven until we have Sallee in custody. You hear me?"

"But Lee –"

"Amanda! I'm serious. Now promise me or I'll-" Lee paused to consider a suitable threat. "I'll lock you up in a holding cell for your own safety!"

"You wouldn't dare!" She gasped.

"Try me." Lee retorted. "And if you're thinking of appealing to Billy, I can assure you that he'll side with me on this one." Waiting for the threat to sink in, Lee crossed his arms.

"Alright," Amanda relented, finally. She knew Lee well enough to know that he wouldn't let up until she did and the last thing she needed was to have him still scolding her when they got back to the Agency. If Mr. Melrose found out about this, she might well end up in a holding cell. "I promise I'll stay clear of Sector Seven until you've apprehended Sallee."

"Good." Keen to keep Amanda busy and out of trouble, Lee decided to take her back to the Agency and get her looking into that diary again. Even Amanda should be safe in the Q-Bureau!


	43. Three Little Spies

Amanda pulled up in front of the small residential building where Lee had asked her to meet him. Seeing his car, she made her way quickly up the stairs. Lee had told her to buzz 1B but the security panel only listed the occupants by name. Looking left and right, she saw no one and pulled out her lock-pick. Leatherneck's training was really paying off and she pulled open the door in less than a minute. Sliding the handy tool back in her purse, she hurried up the half flight of stairs to the first level and found the right door. The apartment was empty of furniture which was probably a blessing if the paper on the walls was any indication. It looked like the aftermath of an explosion in a chintz factory.

There was one floral pattern above the chair rails, another below, and someone had then painted all the trims to look like branches or, worse, more flowers. Whoever lived here had committed an inexcusable crime against taste at the very least. "Lee?" Amanda called.

"I'm in here, Amanda!" Following Lee's disembodied voice, Amanda found him standing in the bathroom, contemplating a dusky rose bathtub, toilet, and sink. "Isn't that the ugliest thing you've ever seen?" Lee asked.

"Well, I suppose it matches the tiles?" Amanda suggested. "Lee, why are we here?" Lee grinned.

"I just bought it."

"You what?"

"I bought it. I'm tired of my place. Just want to make a new start; new place, new furniture. You know. Besides, I got a good deal on it because of the décor." Lee told her. The fact that he'd limited his search to within two miles of Maplewood Drive was something he wasn't prepared to tell her yet. It had been six months since he'd ended things with Leslie and he hadn't dated since. It had taken about two months for him to realise that no woman could hold a candle to Amanda any more. Knowing his lease would be up in the spring, he'd started looking around. He wanted to be closer to his beautiful partner and he didn't want the ghosts of old girlfriends looming.

"And you need me to…?" Amanda prompted. Lee had told her on their second case that his approach to decorating was hiring someone to come in and do it for him.

"Help me pick out the colours and furnishings." Lee told her. "Please, Amanda? I want this place to be homier than my old apartment." And he wanted the same cosy warmth that he always felt when he was in her house. He wanted the Amanda touch.

"Okay." Amanda agreed. She couldn't ever tell Lee that her feelings for him were changing, of course. This would give her a chance to make sure that when he was at home, he was comfortable. Lee was long overdue for someone to take care of him and make sure he was comfortable.


	44. Stemwinder I

Amanda froze as she looked up at the neon sign that proudly announced the King Edward Apartment Hotel. She remembered the hot shame of being evicted the last time they'd entered this cockroach resort. She and Lee had been investigating a murderer who had targeted agents, including Lee. "You have got to be kidding me." Amanda gasped. "The clerk will recognise us for sure! If not for the massive bribe I gave him, then surely we're the only ones he's ever evicted!"

"Not the same guy." Lee assured her. "Now it's one of my family."

"Well, I suppose it's better than a swamp." Amanda said, determined to be positive. She was dead tired, but even so she could see that Lee was nearer to the breaking point than she was. If it was one of Lee's family then at least they could get a few hours of shut-eye. Hopefully, they wouldn't become infested with bedbugs or some other vermin.

Lee led her into what was euphemistically called a lobby and walked up to the counter where the clerk nodded to him and handed him a key without a tag. "Room 417. I put some food and supplies up there for you."

"Thanks Mike." Lee said softly. He and Amanda trudged up the stairs, flight after flight, because the elevator was broken. Amanda supposed that even if there was a visit from agents, the fact that the tag for the room they'd been given was there would make them think that the room was unoccupied. They wouldn't bother going up so far if they didn't have to.

"No, no lights." Lee cautioned as they stepped into their room. Amanda's hand dropped from the light switch.

"Probably makes the place look better this way." She quipped. With the light of the streetlight below, they could make out where the furniture was. Going to the small refrigerator, he opened it carefully. The dim lightbulb revealed a few sandwiches and some bottles of juice.

"Do you want tuna salad or peanut butter?" Lee asked.

"Peanut butter please." She accepted the modest meal with gratitude. She hadn't realised how hungry she was. Apparently, being hunted was hard work. Once they finished, they each took a turn in the bathroom. Mike had even supplied two toothbrushes and a tube of toothpaste. While Lee was brushing his teeth, Amanda considered the bed. It was a difficult call whether the top of the bedspread or the sheets were in a more hygienic state. She was so tired she wasn't sure she cared. Coming out of the bathroom, Lee pulled her into his arms for a kiss. Though they'd been dating for a few months, it was different now that they'd finally admitted their feelings for each other.

"I do love you, Amanda King."

"I love you too, Lee. Though do you think that maybe, some day, we might get to enjoy a night together somewhere pleasant and without worrying that we might be killed if someone sees us?"

"Bo-rrrrr-ing." He joked. "Come on. We're both dead on our feet anyways. We need to be out of here by dawn so we better get some sleep."


	45. Stemwinder II

Stemwinder II

"Good afternoon, Mr. Stetson." Mrs. Marston greeted as Lee stepped into the Georgetown Lobby.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Marston." Lee replied, feeling as if everything was slightly surreal. He had taken Amanda straight home after they'd apprehended Alexis and Sonja and then gone home for a shower and a change of clothes. "Today's password is Redemption." Nodding, the grand dame of the Agency handed over his ID.

"Dr. Smyth has asked that you report to his office as soon as possible." Mrs. Marston told him as he pinned the ID to his lapel. Nodding, he stepped into the elevator.

As he made his way to the director's office, Lee reflected that _nothing personal_ took on a whole new meaning when you had to go back to work and trust people who had recently been prepared to gun down you and the woman you loved like mad dogs. Lee had no trouble putting the D1 on his own head behind him, but he was struggling to accept that anyone had seriously considered hurting Amanda.

In contrast to Dr. Smyth's usual penchant for scoring theatrical points, the director's secretary was absent and the door to the inner sanctum was open. Stepping forward, Lee knocked at the door and waited to be waved in. Billy was sitting in one of the two guest chairs. "Ah, the prodigal son has returned." Dr. Smyth said. Lee knew better than to let Dr. Smyth get to him but it was a real effort not to reveal his annoyance. Still, something must have given him away because the old man's lips twitched.

"Sit, Scarecrow." For once, the smarmy wordplay was absent and Lee followed the instruction. "In light of Billy's report, I've decided to offer Mrs. King entrance into our trainee agent program." Lee blinked. "Surprised?"

"Yes." If Dr. Smyth could be blunt, so could Lee.

"Contrary to your less than flattering opinion of my abilities, I am nothing if not practical. Mrs. King has proven herself to have the qualities that a consummate politician and administrator like me looks for. She's smart, adaptable, and very intelligent. As am I." The pointed message was not lost on Billy or Lee. This opportunity was a tangible, if not explicit, apology. If Amanda became an agent, then Lee had to let go of his resentment over the events of recent days. Lee nodded his acceptance. "Billy, I expect Scarecrow to continue as Mrs. King's named partner."

"Yes sir."

"Now get out of my office, both of you."


	46. No Thanks for the Memory

Lee smiled to himself as he wrapped the leftovers in foil and popped them in the fridge. In a matter of minutes, he'd done the dishes and set up the coffee maker for the morning. Finishing off his wine, he left the kitchen and turned off the light.

In the dining room, he moved the centrepiece back onto the table and adjusted the chairs, reflecting that it was strange how much the right woman could change a man. Not so long ago, he would have been very annoyed with any woman who got him to make dinner and then fell asleep at the table.

Tonight, he'd gone all out to make his specialty dish for Amanda. He'd gone to three gourmet grocery stores to find first the goat's cheese and then the truffles for his frittata. He'd even bought particularly expensive champagne in his quest to construct the perfect romantic evening.

Blowing out the candles, he shook his head at the memory of how Amanda had looked, asleep on the couch when he brought the bubbly. He hadn't been annoyed. Quite the contrary, he'd thought she was adorable.

Poking the fire in the hearth until there were only softly glowing embers, he ran through his evening security ritual of making sure all the windows and the door were locked. Stepping into the bedroom, he smiled at his partner who was sound asleep in the bed wearing only one of his old t-shirts. His plans for the night hadn't planned this particular end. Moving to the window, he opened it slightly the way Amanda liked it.

Pulling a pair of track pants out of a drawer, he bit back a chuckle as he moved to the bathroom to go through his own bedtime ritual. He wasn't as tired as Amanda clearly was, but he couldn't imagine doing anything better than holding his partner while she slept.

Putting out the light in the bathroom, he made his way to the bed and slid between the sheets. Amanda immediately rolled over and into his arms, snuggling against him in trusting slumber.

Kissing the top of her head, he relaxed, happily bidding his bachelor self farewell. He was happier here with his Amanda than the Scarecrow had ever been with his meaningless conquests… even if back then he'd stayed up well past nine p.m. on a Saturday night!


	47. It's in the Water

_Mission: Get to my informant without alerting anyone on the way. Detection is automatic failure._

Lee spun around and pretended to be engrossed in the decoy file he'd brought down as Billy and Fielder walked by. _Please don't spot me. Please don't spot me! _To his relief, they continued on their way and he was able to consider the next challenge.

Amanda was in the Q-Bureau but she might not stay there long and Billy was going to come looking for him in twenty minutes for their meeting at the White House. That left only Francine. She was like a bloodhound when it came to chocolate and here he was, holding a big shiny foil box of Di Verona Rapture assortment. He might as well have just dipped himself in chocolate. If Francine saw him, he was done for. Either he'd have to give her the chocolates which would require some justification or he'd need to find an explanation for why he was wandering the halls of the Agency with fifty bucks worth of premium chocolates. Neither was a viable choice. Tucking the box between his jacket and the files, he decided to make a run for it. Jogging quickly past the bullpen, he pretended not to hear when Francine called him back. The fact that she didn't chase after him suggested that she hadn't spotted the treasure in his arms.

Reaching data entry, he slipped in behind Stamps and slowly brought the chocolates down into her line of sight. She immediately abandoned her keyboard and reached for the bribe. "What do you want, sexy?" She asked teasingly.

"I need an old case file but I don't want anyone to know I requisitioned it." Lee told her bluntly.

"Oh?"

"The Delano Case." Lee said. "Specifically, I'm looking for the measurements of one Victoria Greenwich." Stamps turned in her chair.

"Any specific measurements?" Knowing that she would take anything he told her to the grave, Lee smiled.

"Her ring size."


	48. Unfinished Business

"Lee?" Amanda dragged herself into the house at nine o'clock on Friday night, feeling like something a cat had coughed up. The week had been a brutal introduction to the less pleasant reality of being an agent.

Billy Melrose was a Machiavellian manager when he wanted to be and after the Blackthorne case, he'd been determined to teach both Amanda and Lee a stern lesson about disobeying direct orders. Lee had been barred from the office for two full weeks and Amanda had been assigned so much extra work that it would be at least two weeks before she'd see daylight again. The result was that they were both stuck doing exactly what they didn't want to be doing and without the pleasure of each other's company to make it tolerable.

Dotty had gone to New York City with her gardening club to see an orchid exhibit and it was the boys' weekend with Joe so the house was empty. Lee had left her a phone message that he'd meet her at her house and he'd take care of dinner.

Following the intriguing smells that were emanating from her kitchen, Amanda kicked off her shoes and padded barefoot down the steps. "Mmm… I could get used to this." She announced, smiling at the sight of Lee wearing a frilly-edged apron as he slid two plates into the oven. He'd already taken out the dish with his culinary masterpiece and was letting it rest. Judging from the curls of steam that were dancing their way to the ceiling, he'd just liberated it from the oven. Walking over to her, he pulled her into his arms for a kiss. "Honey, I'm home." Amanda quipped, standing on her toes to kiss him.

"That's some day you just put in." He told her.

"Yeah, about fifteen hours." Amanda agreed. "I think there are some aspects of being a civilian that I'm going to miss, like letting you take all the punishment." Lee chuckled and kissed her again.

"Yeah, well… it's about time that Billy got a taste of what it's like giving you orders that you never listen to." Amanda laughed and patted Lee's backside, making his eyes narrow. "Speaking of consequences…" Lee began, pulling away. "You remember how I said that I'd be doing something about you lock-picking your way into my apartment the other day?" Amanda had the grace to blush at the pointed reminder. Breaking into Lee's apartment was definitely an abuse of her training. She had hoped he'd forgotten about that little misdemeanour.

"Yes?"

"Well, just to be sure that never happens again, I took action today." Reaching into his apron pocket, Lee pulled out a keychain with three keys on it. Holding them up, he grinned. "Outside door, front door, and back door." He explained. "That way you'll never need to break in again." Stunned but pleased, Amanda accepted the momentous gift with a kiss and an apology.

"I'm really sorry that we'll have to eat dinner cold."


	49. Nightcrawler

Lee looked up at the monitor screens in Billy's office. Amanda should arrive any minute and he meant to be right behind her when she got to the Q-Bureau. He'd enlisted Mrs. Marsden's help to stall her so he could be sure not to miss the moment. Seeing the door of the Georgetown Lobby open, he waited only long enough to confirm it was Amanda and headed for the elevator. He hadn't gone two steps from the door of Billy's office when the man himself called him.

"Looking for me, Scarecrow?" Lee scrambled for a response. He couldn't exactly tell Billy that he'd just been hanging out in his office waiting for Amanda to make an appearance!

"Uhm, yeah Billy. But I forgot to bring the file down with me. I'll just go get it. I'll be right back."

"Okay. I want to talk to you about-" Lee nodded and hurried away.

"Lee!" Francine called as he stepped out of the bullpen. "Glad I caught you. The first batch of transcripts from the Birol interrogation came in this morning."

"That's great, Francine. Look, can I get back to you about that?" Lee asked as he continued to make his way to the elevator. Francine gaped at him. Lee supposed that under any other circumstances, he'd be going through those transcripts on the spot but he was on a critical mission.

Jabbing the button impatiently, he waited for the elevator doors to open. "'Morning Scarecrow." Dr. Smyth greeted. "I understand Mrs. King is back to work today." Lee smiled and nodded.

"Yes sir, she is." The door finally opened.

"Good, well I expect you both to get back to work. There's quite a backlog in the Q-Bureau cases that built up these past few weeks." Lee reached out to hold the door open.

"Yes sir." Lee edged nearer to the elevator.

"Ah, Stetson!" Dr. Pain called, joining them. Lee wondered what kind of cosmic joke it was that he couldn't get back to the Q-Bureau the one time when he was desperate to get there. "I understand that Mrs. King has been given the all-clear? I will need to see her to do her preliminary assessment so that I can prepare her hand-to-hand combat courses."

"Sure." Before anyone else could say a word, Lee slipped into the elevator and pressed the button, desperately hoping to finish his quest uninterrupted.

Stepping out into the Georgetown Foyer, he pointed up the stairs with a questioning look at Mrs. Marsden. She opened her mouth to say something but then just smiled and nodded. Lee needed no encouragement and took the stairs two at a time. When he finally arrived, Amanda was just admiring the engagement ring he'd bought her. Smiling, Lee strolled around her desk as if he had all the time in the world.


	50. Billy's Lost Weekend

"Two sirloins, one medium, one rare." The waiter announced, putting down two plates with steaks and all the sides. Without thinking about it, Lee pulled Billy's plate closer and matter-of-factly cut up his friend's steak. Billy chuckled as he picked up his fork with his good hand.

"What?" Lee asked.

"You. You've changed, Scarecrow." Lee scoffed. "You have! A few years ago you'd have sat there watching me trying to cut up my steak with this thing." Billy waved to his sling. "Now you're just more… I don't know. You seem to be more aware of other people's needs than you were then. It's made you a better agent and a nicer person." Lee smiled, pleased.

"Amanda's fault." He conceded.

"I know." Lee took a bite of his steak. He wished Amanda had been able to join them tonight. She had planned to but then there'd been an emergency meeting called at the school and she'd had to cancel. Lee had planned to tell Billy that they were engaged, but he didn't want to do it without Amanda and especially not before talking to her about it.

"But you know, it's not all been one way. You've been good for her, too. She's becoming a damn fine agent." Lee nodded. He was so proud of how well Amanda was doing as a trainee agent. She was setting a new standard for the theoretical and analytical stuff. She'd had enough of the hard field stuff with Birol - for now. "Did you know that Harry called Smyth while you two were on the run during the Stemwinder affair?"

"No."

"Yeah. Told him that for someone in intelligence he was an idiot; that thinking you and Amanda were traitors was the kind of higher order thinking he expected from a goldfish."

"Bet the old man liked that." Lee chuckled, imagining that call. It was good to know that some people had been on their side even when they didn't know.

"Yeah. Wasn't a great week for Dr. Smyth, all things considered." Lee shook his head. Dr. Smyth might not hold a grudge, but Lee couldn't bring himself to like the guy. He respected him after what he'd achieved cleaning up after Rollins' but he was never going to be a fan.

"Billy…" Lee started, choosing his words carefully. "You know that job at the State Department?"

"Yeah?" Billy's eyes sharpened on the younger man. He'd mentioned the opportunity just before Amanda had been captured. He wasn't surprised that the possibility held sudden appeal after everything Lee had been through on that case.

"Hypothetically speaking, what would happen to Amanda if I got a job like that?" Billy speared a piece of meat and put it in his mouth, chewing thoughtfully as he considered his options. There were two possible things Lee could be worried about.

"Hypothetically speaking, you'd get your choice of assistants and could easily select Amanda. But there would also be the choice for her to stay right where she is and get a new partner." Billy knew he didn't need to highlight that the choice would not only be Lee's. Amanda would probably choose to follow her partner, but she might also want to keep the job she had. There was still a lot for her to learn as a field agent. Billy wondered if Lee would choose his own peace of mind, or Amanda's happiness in her current role.

"Well then." Lee took another bite of his own steak and considered what Billy had said before making his decision. "I don't think I'll go for this job just yet. But maybe, keep me in the loop if other opportunities come up?" Oh yeah, Lee Stetson had changed.

"Will do."


	51. Need to Know

Amanda slipped into the Q-Bureau and locked the door behind her. She didn't know how long she had before Lee caught up with her but it wouldn't be long. Hurrying to his desk, she quickly flipped through every folder she could find. It couldn't be far, Lee hadn't been back to the office since they'd left two hours ago.

With an eye on the door, she pulled open each drawer of Lee's desk, grumbling to find the top one locked. Reaching for the half-rake that was hidden in her collar, she quickly picked the lock.

She couldn't believe that Lee had managed to find out anything about Jim. That weekend in Hiltonhead in 1976 had been a huge mistake. Nothing had happened, but it almost had and she was ashamed of herself for the near miss.

Jamie had been just shy of his first birthday and Joe was already in Africa. Amanda had been so angry with him for actually taking the EAO job and accepting a posting abroad that she'd accepted Jim's invitation with some idiotic idea of punishing Joe by having a fling.

They hadn't made it half way before Amanda realised that she wasn't so angry with Joe that she was willing to compromise her own self-respect. She'd apologised to Jim and explained but he'd gallantly suggested that they head down anyways. They'd slept in separate rooms and had a lovely weekend just enjoying each other's company and visiting the tourist spot. She couldn't stand the idea of confessing to Lee that she'd once almost betrayed her wedding vows.

"What would he think of me?" She whispered, getting desperate.

Finally, she got the drawer open. There, resting in the middle was one file folder with** Jim Saranen – Hilton Head 1976** written on the tab. Quickly flipping it open, she was surprised to see only a single folded page inside. Unfolding the paper, she felt her eyes water at the note that Lee had obviously left for her.

_1976 doesn't matter. 1986 does._

_Keep your secrets._

_I love you._

_Lee_


	52. Rumours of My Death

Amanda hummed cheerfully to herself as she carefully lifted the third layer of cake on top of the other two. "What's the occasion?" Dotty asked, contemplating her daughter's efforts.

"I have a co-worker who is getting married soon and I thought that it would be nice to celebrate a bit beforehand." Amanda explained.

"You're so thoughtful, dear." Dotty said, kissing Amanda's cheek. "I hope he really appreciates it. It's not everyone who would go to such trouble just to give a man an early taste of wedding cake. Make sure he gets a good look at it before everyone digs in."

"I'm sure he'll get an eyeful." Amanda promised.


	53. Bad Timing

It was a sad fact that Billy Melrose was no longer a young man. In fact, he was so old that he didn't even miss the things that he'd enjoyed back in the day. When Eddie Spencer had been in town last year and he'd had to revive his Billy Bluenote persona, he'd been most upset at the prospect of late nights. A man his age had long since learnt the pleasures of comfort and a good night's sleep. Now, if he wasn't working, he was in bed by eleven o'clock or sometimes even nine. Jeanie teased him about it, but she'd be yawning while she did it.

If his evenings were shorter, his mornings were longer and it wasn't unusual for him to be in the office hours before the day shift rolled in. He'd wave to the night shift guys, some of them who had been there when he'd left the night before, and head into his office. It was astonishing how much a man could get done when he wasn't being interrupted by high strung agents with critical issues.

This morning, he'd arrived shortly before five. It was almost seven now and he had a good chance of getting through his budget review reports before roll-call. The tap at his door was unexpected. Looking up, he was surprised to see Amanda King waiting to be invited in. Waving her into the office, he smiled at his newest agent. He couldn't think of anyone else who had had such an influence on the culture of Field sector. Beautiful, kind, modest and capable was a lethal combination.

"Good morning, Amanda." He began, biting back a grin. He knew that look of determination. He was about to be given his marching orders.

"Good morning, sir." Amanda greeted. She paused a moment to consider exactly how to present her case.

"Is this a social call?" Billy prompted.

"No sir. Sir, Lee was attacked last night."

"What?" Billy didn't mean to roar but the thought of one of his agents being attacked was guaranteed to send his blood pressure soaring.

"Last night on his way home, Lee was attacked by a gang of thugs. I saw the whole thing and they ran away when I approached. Sir, Lee wouldn't let me take him to the hospital and I think he should see a doctor, sir." Despite prefixing and suffixing her sentence with the respectable address, Billy knew he wasn't being consulted on this. Amanda had made a decision and she was merely here to give him a chance to live up to her expectations!

"You're absolutely right, Amanda. I believe that the day shift in the infirmary is just starting so if you go down there and arrange an appointment, I'll make the arrangements to delay his morning meetings."

"Thank you, sir." Amanda said with a relieved smile.

"Amanda, you know Lee. He won't be easily convinced. I can make it an order."

"So can I." Amanda told him with a very Scarecrow-like grin as she hurried away.


	54. Do You Take This Spy?

"Amanda, where are you going?" Lee asked as Amanda deviated from the route back to the Agency car lot. His plans for his first morning of marriage had been thwarted by his wife's insistence that he get up. Apparently having breakfast was one of the compromises he'd need to make in this marriage gig.

"You'll see." A few moments later, she pulled the limo up to his parents' graveside. Reaching into the back seat, she collected her bridal flowers from the day before. Smiling at him, she explained.

"Just because they couldn't be there, and we can't tell anyone else, I thought it would be nice to include them in our happiness by giving them my bouquet." Lee felt his throat tighten at Amanda's generosity. To give him this, when they couldn't include her mother, was so like her. Smiling, she nodded. "Come on."

Taking her free hand, Lee led them to the small patch where both of his parents rested. Crouching down, Amanda laid the flowers between them and whispered, "Thank you." Standing up, she felt her husband's hand slip around her waist.

"Thank you?" Lee asked, curious.

"Thank you." Amanda confirmed. "For giving me you. Don't ever forget, sweetheart; all the wonderful moments we share are thanks to them and the choices they made." Lee shook his head in amazement at his wife's ability to make everything better, always.

"Mom, dad, this is Amanda. You couldn't have imagined a more wonderful person to be my wife." He told his parents. After a few more quiet moments, he turned back to the car. "Time for that honeymoon, Mrs. Stetson."


	55. Mission of Gold

After a shower, a shave, and a change of clothes, Lee felt almost human again. Looking at Amanda's unopened suitcases near his own, he felt his eyes sting and his throat tighten. It was inconceivable that after everything they'd been through, Amanda was almost killed on the first day of their honeymoon. Why on Earth had she chosen this one time to listen to him and stay in the car?

"Get a grip, Stetson." Lee told himself firmly. Now was not the time to fall apart. Amanda and Dotty both needed him and he wasn't going to let them down now. Slipping his room key into his jacket pocket, he headed down to the hotel bar. Dotty was already there and had opted for something significantly stronger than a splash of Galliano in a glass of milk. As soon as he sat down across from her, the waiter brought him a glass of amber liquid. "Ten year old Macallan, sir?" Surprised, Lee nodded. Macallan was one of his favourite single malts. Lee nodded when the waiter offered ice cubes.

"How did you know?" He asked Dotty once they were alone again.

"I was with Amanda when she did her Christmas shopping. We must have gone to five different stores to find it. When I noticed the bottle behind the bar, I thought it might be just thing after a day like today."

"It's what I would have chosen for myself." Lee assured her, taking a long, slow sip of the amber elixir. It burned pleasantly down his throat, slightly warming the part of him that had been frozen since Amanda had been shot. Dotty watched him and reached over to squeeze his hand. It was a gesture that she shared with Amanda.

"She'll pull through this, Lee. I know she will." Lee nodded. He hadn't felt so desperately lost since his parents had died. Then he'd felt like his whole world had fallen apart. Now his world was bigger but it would be no less destroyed if Amanda didn't pull through. When she'd crashed again today, he'd thought he was having a heart attack too. Seeing Lee's despair, Dotty realised that there was something she could do for Amanda. She could take care of this man that her daughter was obviously in love with. "You know what we need to do?" Lee shook his head. "We need to cheer each other up with happy stories. We'll take turns. We can tell each other our favourite memories of Amanda while we have dinner and maybe it'll make us feel better?" Lee smiled.

"I'd like that." Learning about the happy stories from Amanda's mother would help. All he had to do was edit the stories of their adventures so they sounded IFF-ish.

* * *

Two hours later, after two more rounds at the bar and a bottle of wine with a surprisingly good meal, Lee and Dotty were laughing like they'd been friends for years. Lee felt so much better than he had when they'd been told to leave the hospital that he almost missed the surgical precision with which Dotty redirected the conversation. "Lee, tell me something, why did the hospital call you instead of me?"

"Uhm…" Lee fumbled. His brain refusing to shift gears fast enough.

"You know what I think? I think that you and Amanda were together when this happened." Lee gaped at his mother-in-law. How had she out-manoeuvred him so easily? "Don't bother denying it!" She said when he opened his mouth. "I want you to listen to me, very carefully. I think you and Amanda are in love, and I think you have been for a while. I know _she_ has been. Now, I don't know why she feels she can't tell me that. But here's something I think I can tell you. The only thing that matters to me is that my daughter is in love with someone who obviously loves her and she's happier than I've ever seen her. So, if you two want to go on holiday together, you have my blessing. Not that you need it." Lee smiled. Such generous honesty deserved an equal response.

"Thank you, Dotty. You're right, we were here together. And I can tell you that I've never loved anyone the way I love Amanda." Nodding, Dotty put her napkin on the table and stood up, bending to drop a gentle kiss on Lee's cheek.

"You're a good man, Lee. I couldn't wish for better for my daughter." With that, she left him to reflect that the West women were in a class all their own. Amanda might not be out of the woods, but he'd sleep easier now.


	56. One Flew East

Amanda smiled as she hurried up to the Q-Bureau. She'd just handed over the reports about Rollins to Francine who had chided her for letting Lee shirk his paperwork duties. Amanda had let Francine know that it was a debt that she'd be collecting on later from her lovable partner. Lee always made it up to her when she filed his reports for him. As she neared the office, she was surprised to hear Leatherneck's voice. "Now you've got it, Ace."

"Thanks, Leatherneck. Let's get this packaging cleared away quick before Amanda sees it." Amused, Amanda leaned back against the wall across the hall, arms folded as she waited for the partners in crime. Sure enough, a moment later Lee and Leatherneck came barrelling out of the Q-Bureau, arms full of packing materials.

"Going somewhere?" She asked, delighted to see Lee blush. Leatherneck looked much more amused than guilty.

"You're on your own, Ace." Adding his burden to Lee's, Leatherneck ruthlessly broke rank. Amanda reached over and plucked the top box off of Lee's Leaning Tower of Incriminating Evidence. It was a box for a new camera with the price tag still visible.

"Why the secrecy?" Amanda asked. While four hundred dollars was a lot of money, it was well within Lee's means to treat himself to something like this. Eyeing him, Amanda saw the guilty flicker of his eyes. "Ah, it's not for you, is it?"

"Amanda, I can explain!" Lee said desperately.

"I'm listening." Amanda had to bite down on her lower lip. She was enjoying seeing Lee squirm but she also understood what he'd been up to.

"I saw how Jamie was looking at those photographs at the state fair the other day and I thought that maybe photography could be something we could do together. Maybe that would be the way to get past those defences he's put up.

"Lee, you can't give Jamie an expensive camera like this." Amanda said gently. "First of all, it wouldn't be fair to Phillip, and second of all, Jamie will think you're trying to bribe him."

"I know, I know." Lee assured her. "I wasn't going to give it to him, just suggest it as something we could do together." Amanda was careful to maintain a stern frown as she considered her husband.

"Put that down." She ordered, straightening away from the wall. Looking very much like the boys did when they knew they were in big trouble, Lee sighed and dropped the armful of packaging on the floor outside of the office. Stepping forward, Amanda slipped her arms around his waist. "Thank you." Smiling she stood up on her toes to give him a kiss.

"You're not mad?"

"I think it's a genius idea and I'm sure Jamie will love it and I love you that extra bit more for figuring out a way to connect with him when I know perfectly well that he hasn't made it easy for you. I'm not mad. In fact, I think that maybe later I'll show you just how _not mad_ I am." Amanda said suggestively.

"Oh yeah?" Lee asked with interest.

"Oh yeah."


	57. Suitable for Framing

Lee pulled up in front of Francine's building. To his surprise, she didn't immediately get out of the car. Instead, she unfastened her seatbelt and turned towards him. "You know what I said before? About not letting you be normal?" She asked. Lee nodded, wondering where she was going with this. "It wasn't what I meant."

"What did you mean?" Lee asked.

"I meant that you don't get to be a normal person if I don't. I'm going to say this once, Lee; and if you ever tell a soul…"

"Francine, you're my best friend – and I keep secrets for a living!"

"No, I'm not. Not anymore." Francine said softly, holding up a hand when Lee would have protested. "Let me finish." She told him. Lee watched as she gathered her thoughts. "Amanda's your best friend now; she's also your soulmate. I tried to ignore it for a long time but then I realised a few things. I love you, Stetson; but I am not in love with you. I would have to be pretty stupid or very selfish to miss how happy she's made you. I am neither."

"No, you're not." Lee agreed with his warmest smile.

"Amanda made me realise that if you can fall in love and be so happy, then I can too. I didn't think I could have it all, including a normal life. So now, I am going to go out there and find a man that makes me as happy as Amanda makes you. I won't settle for less."

Lee reached over and pulled her into a hug. "He'll be a very lucky man." He said, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. "And we love you too, Francine." He added before releasing her. "Now go on."

Smiling, Francine collected her briefcase and hurried up the path without looking back.


	58. All that Glitters

Amanda bit back a laugh at the masterful way in which Elisa Danton had excluded Lee from their conversation. Poor Lee.

Elisa's hospital room looked more like a hotel suite than a medical space. There were few discreet medical items here and there, including an oxygen mask draped over the pillow, but otherwise the room was all thick-pile carpet and mahogany cabinetry. Amanda supposed that it was one of the perks of being the daughter of Andrea and Elliot Danton, after whom this wing of the hospital was named.

Elisa picked up the phone and ordered refreshments for three; clearly planning to invite Lee in soon. Amanda really liked her. She was glamorous, charming, and obviously very skilled in all things social. Sitting down across from Amanda, Elisa smiled. For a moment, the two women merely looked each other over. Elisa was the first to break, laughing. "Oh, you're perfect!" She raved. It was not what Amanda had expected. "You are exactly what Lee never understood he needed." Amanda's estimation of the blonde's skills rose at that. "Oh, what I wouldn't give to have seen you lead him a merry chase. You probably had him tied up in knots." Elisa laughed in delight and Amanda felt her lips twitch. "Amanda, may I call you Amanda?" At the consenting nod, Elisa continued. "And you must call me Elisa. We won't have much time. Lee will no doubt be pacing, worried about all manner of inquisition I might be inflicting on you. Obviously there's no need for him to worry, but I suspect that he's rather irrationally protective of you."

For the first time in living memory, Amanda sat bemused and let someone else ramble. Elisa's bubbly pleasure was infectious and made Amanda a bit curious about this woman who hadn't held on to Lee.

"Ah, you must be wondering why I'm so unbothered by Lee's new love?" Amanda nodded. Was this what it was like for Lee? Watching someone ramble on, barely able to fit in a single word? "Amanda, dear, Lee is a handsome, charming, complicated man and I like my men handsome, charming, and simple. He's become a dear friend over the years, but he requires far more work than a woman like me is interested in investing in a single man." Amanda thought that the complexity of Lee Stetson was maybe her favourite part. Even after almost four years, he still surprised her frequently. "I do hope we can become friends too. I'd hate to lose Lee as a friend, but I can understand that you might have little patience for the circles I travel, or what that says about me."

"I'd love to become friends, Elisa." Amanda said sincerely. She could see why Lee had such a soft spot for Elisa but she suddenly realised there was no reason for jealousy.

"Now, how long do you think it will be before your Lee brings us our tea?" Elisa asked. "He must be beside himself with curiosity.

"Not long." Amanda agreed just as the door opened and Lee came in with a tea tray. Both women immediately started laughing.


	59. Matter of Choice

Lee stretched and let out a moan of pleasure. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to find that he wasn't in his own bed. He was in Amanda's bed where he'd been banished by Dotty when she found him napping in his car in the sun. Groaning, Lee considered the dimness of the room. It was probably close to nine o'clock. He'd been sleeping for over six hours! Sitting up, he realised that he was wearing only his boxers. Someone, he hoped it was Amanda, had taken the trouble to undress him and he'd slept through the entire thing.

Mortified, Lee got up and found the change of clothes he kept on the top shelf of Amanda's closet. Dressing quickly, he made the bed up and braced himself. _This is so embarrassing._ As the only two options were to face the music or sneak out like a coward which would make his next encounter with the King household even worse, Lee trudged down the stairs, finding everyone outside at the table playing monopoly.

"Hey, it's Rip Van Winkle." Phillip teased. Lee smiled sheepishly as Amanda came over and gave him a welcoming kiss.

"Come on, Stetson. You must be famished. I'll get you some food."

"I am hungry actually." Lee admitted. "Uhm, I just wanted to say thanks, Dotty. I guess I didn't realise how tired I was when I got here." Lee admitted. The boys thought that was hilarious and dissolved into gales of laughter. Even Dotty seemed amused but to her credit, she didn't laugh at him.

"You certainly needed your rest." She agreed. Tugging his arm, Amanda led him into the kitchen with a smile.

"How do you feel, sweetheart?"

"Better." Lee agreed, pulling her into his arms. "What's so funny?" He asked, seeing her lips twitching and her eyes dancing with humour.

"You know how I said you needed about thirty-six hours' worth of sleep?"

"Yeah?" Amanda made a point of looking at her watch.

"You got about twenty-nine solid hours."

"What?"

"Today's Wednesday."

"No."

"'Fraid so." Lee groaned.

"I'm never going to live this down, am I?"

"Nope. It's an even better story than the laundry ones." Amanda agreed, finally giving in to her laughter. Shaking his head, Lee ruthlessly kissed her into silence.


	60. The Krushchev List

"Come on, Amanda. I know you're there." Lee's voice pleaded through the answering machine speaker. Amanda levelled a .45 calibre glare at the phone though it was her idiot husband she would have liked to vaporise in that moment. The machine beeped and cut him off.

Of all the asinine things a man had ever done to his wife, making a list of everything about her that irritated him was the most hurtful, thoughtless thing ever. What was he thinking?

"Well, he doesn't have much experience at being a husband." Amanda reminded herself.

"So what?" She challenged her conscience. "He certainly has enough experience with women to know better." She looked again at the notepad she'd brought with her from Lee's apartment. When she'd first realised what it was, she'd paused and flipped through it. Six pages! Six pages in her husband's barely-legible scrawl detailing all of her imperfections. Of course, after all these years, she had no trouble at all reading his hand-writing. She'd been able to make out every single word of the first twenty or so complaints.

Too hurt to continue, she'd packed it up, grabbed her purse and left while he was in the shower. Well, run away was probably more accurate. This was the same man who had told her a million times at least that this or that was "need to know". He'd never had any problems keeping secrets from her before. It was hard to believe that revealing this one hadn't been deliberate. Maybe it was just that he didn't think it was a secret, maybe he'd wanted her to find it. "A bit passive-aggressive for you, Stetson." She muttered.

The phone rang again and for the fourth time, Lee pleaded with her to pick up. "A-man-da! I'm sorry! It was a stupid thing to do. Just pick up… please?" Just before the machine hung up on him again, Amanda picked up the receiver.

"Better make this good, Stetson." She knew that Lee had enough experience as a husband to know that when she called him by his last name, he was in big trouble.

"Amanda, just listen to me, will ya? I thought if we both made lists of each other's quirks, we could sit down and talk everything out. You know, with reason, rationally!"

"Lee, how am I supposed to feel, finding a list of things my husband doesn't like about me?" Amanda asked, the hurt rising over her anger for the moment.

"That list was a rough draft! I didn't expect you to read it!"

"Is that supposed to make it better?" Annnnnnd, there was the anger back in the lead. "Six pages, Lee! How could you do this to me?"

"Okay, okay. Six pages of quirks is a bit excessive. Maybe a little petty but I—" Not in the mood for any more excuses, Amanda slammed the phone down. "He can just add being hung up on to the list of matrimonial complaints." Amanda fumed. When the phone rang again a minute later, she grabbed the handset, ready to give her husband a piece of her mind.

"What!"

"Amanda, darling!" It wasn't Lee, it was her mother.

"Oh, hello mother." Amanda forced herself to speak calmly.

"Amanda, are you alright?"

"Yes mother."

"Oh, alright then. Listen, we're all having such a lovely time that we'd like to stay for another day or two. Is that alright?"

"Yes mother, that's fine. Call me before you come home and I'll pick you up at the train."

"Thank you, dear." Dotty paused before adding, "And Amanda, try to remember that relationships are like rugs, every so often you need to drag them outside for a bit of airing."

"And a beating." Amanda added grimly under her breath.

"Yes dear. Make Lee apologise for whatever he did, then forgive him. He's such a _charming_ man."

"Thank you, mother." Amanda said pointedly before hanging up. Her mother was absolutely right. And in his own way, that was probably exactly what Lee had been trying to do. He'd chosen the stupidest possible way of doing it of course, but he'd probably just been trying to clear the air. Taking a deep breath, Amanda reached for the hated list and her purse. At some point, she was going to accept his apology so she might as well let him get his grovelling done so they could make the most of the extra time her mother had just given them.


End file.
